Demonas Love Reborn v1
by scottmercure
Summary: Demona hires a scientist in hopes of finding out how her kind turns to stone during the day. What she discovers is that even a heart as hard and cold as hers can be softened and warmed when properly motivated.


- DEMONA'S LOVE REBORN  -

THE ORIGINAL

Part 1: "Hidden Desires Reborn"

A Gargoyles Adventure by:

Scott S. Mercure and Ryan Stout

Send all comments, suggestion and input to both myself and Ryan Stout (we both worked on this story and deserve equal credit).

Scott Mercure:

smercure@charter.net

Ryan Stout:

proteus@psu.edu

Written on April 3, 1996

*** PG-13 ***

            All Gargoyles and characters are copy written 1996 by Disney and Buena Vista Television. Any characters that appear in this story that have not been seen in Gargoyles is the sole creation of the authors. In addition they are in no way related to any person in the Gargoyles history or past characters. Any resemblance is purely a coincidence.

            We're not out to infringe on Disney or BVTV copyrights in any way, shape or form. We write Gargoyles fan fiction solely because it's a wonderful series, full of promise and adventure.

            Fan fiction writers, like ourselves, enjoy creating their own episodes to see their favorite characters do thing THEY want. Anybody who wants to use my characters is welcome too, as long as they contact me (Scott Mercure) first. Tell me what you plan to do with them and chances are I won't mind.

** CREDITS **

            I would like to personally thanks all those people at Disney who brought us the Gargoyles. The writers have done an excellent job in bringing these characters to life.  To my loving fiancée, Isabelle Saucier, without her I would

still be alone, with only my writing to keep me company.  Another big thanks goes out to Ryan Stout, another great writer who's also done some great Gargoyles fan fiction. He also co-wrote this very story!  Thanks to Elizabeth Sanborn and Zack Macfarlane for their confidence in my work. I will never forget your kind words, they help me to keep writing. And to all those others who are too numerous to name, thank you all for your wonderful phone calls and e-mail.

            NOTICE!!!! This story deals with the older reader, if you're not into mild sex and language then stop now. I believe that just because they don't show it on television doesn't mean you can't READ about it. Just thought I'd let you know before you started reading and got to a place you found offensive (Yeah, right!)

            This story takes place shortly after the episode entitled "Outfoxed."

*** PLEASE READ! ***

            In case you haven't done so already, please read my other three stories that take place before Demona's Love Reborn. They are called "OLD TIMES", "FULL MOON RISING", and "OLD SURPRISES, NEW FRIENDS" in that order. If you do not then there will be some things with this story that won't make much sense.  You  should also consider reading Ryan Stout's stories: ATHENA, RESURRECTIONS, TOIL AND TROUBLE and GEMINI.  If you need any of the above stories please contact me (Scott Mercure) and I'll get them to you. My e-mail address and home telephone are listed at the end of this story.

* * *

Alone behind the computer terminal, James MacGregor stared at the monitor, its light casting his face with an eerie glow.  The last of the students he taught had left well over an hour ago, ecstatically bursting out of the school building to a Friday of movies, friends, and hopefully a little passion. Now he sat all alone in his classroom, stooped low over the keyboard and squinting intently at what he saw, making sure that nothing escaped his gaze. Typing his password he opened the file containing all his students grades for the term. As each name came onto the screen it was followed by his or her work history, class grades and work credits.

All his students were passing, many with high honors. The university he taught at had given him a few awards for excellence, nothing to get worked up over. He was pleased, the teaching job was good, but he would have preferred his own lab. The means to work on some of his own *private* projects was what he desired most. The school labs were okay, but they did not have the technology he needed. And with his rather...sordid history he was quite sure he would not get any funding from the school board, nor any other organization for that matter.

Satisfied with his students records he closed the file and dialed his home computer. It rang once before connecting with a modem's unmistakable squalling. A second later a new window opened and asked for a system's password.

His hands moved expertly on the keyboard as he typed a six character password: DEMONA. The computer paused for a second, hard drive whirring, and displayed a menu of options. Moving the mouse pointer he positioned it over a selection labeled: Private Database. Another menu of options was displayed. 

He selected to open an existing file and was presented with a file selection. 

There was dozens of files in the directory but he knew which one he wanted. Scrolling down through the files he highlighted one called: DEMPROF.PDB and hit ENTER. It took a few moments for the computer to download the file.

When it finished a new window opened in the upper left corner and began to display a picture. The picture was of a female gargoyle with blazing red hair. Once the digital photo was done refining itself, some text appeared next to it.

Subject profile: DEMONA

Height: 6'

Weight: 180lbs (Flesh), 700lbs (Stone)

Hair color: RED

Skin color: Light blue, gray

PROFILE INFORMATION GATHERED BY DAVID XANATOS ON:

MARCH 13, 1994

DATA STORAGE LOCATION: 443554, AREA 45a

ACCESS RESTRICTED BY DAVID XANATOS (MY EYES ONLY)

It hadn't been easy to break into Xanatos Enterprises' computer system. It had taken around two weeks, but when he managed it he was able grab just about anything, bypassing billions of dollars worth of security systems. He had been scanning Xanatos's personal finance areas and came across an oddly protected file that looked quite promising. It had caught his eye and within five minutes was downloading its data to his portable system, nearly five hundred megabytes of mostly text files and digitized pictures.

He was smart enough not to use his home system. Portable computers worked great when you used them with pay-phones. When the file was done he logged out and went home to see what he had gotten. To his surprise it was not financial records, but some of David Xanatos's own personal records.

There weren't ordinary records, however. Some of them he couldn't break into, being too heavily encoded;  Files named things like "Coldstone," "Thailog," "Athena," and "Pack." Others, however, he was able to crack open and look inside. They concerned some kind of strange looking creatures, hideous things with too many limbs that seemed to defy modern taxonomy. The file described them as gargoyles, a total of six, complete with personal records. He read each one, but when he reached Demona's his eyes widened.

Reaching into his pocket he removed an ancient leather bound journal and opened it to a marked page. There was an inked image inside of a quasi-demonic creature, similar to the gargoyles described in Xanatos' files, that looked like it could be this Demona's twin sister. Scrawled under it was a short paragraph, scribbled in an ages-old script: "The feeling one gets from sharing something a simple as a kiss is worth more than anything in the world."

"Is it possible that you are the very descendant of this Demona?" He asked himself, looking at the picture on the screen, then at the journal. "What I wouldn't give to meet you, just once."

He sighed and tried to bring his thoughts back to reality. "But it's hopeless." He said, shaking his head. "I'm living in a fantasy world."

He logged off from his home computer and deleted the data from this one before turning      g it off. Grabbing his lab coat from the chair he about to leave when somebody rapped sharply at his door. He paused for a moment before answering. 

Standing outside was the famous industrialist David Xanatos, and a few feet behind him was his personal assistant, Owen Burnett. The multimillionaire smiled and held out his hand, waiting for the scientist to do the same.

"Professor MacGregor?" Xanatos said, shaking his hand. "I'm David Xanatos, I'm sure you've heard of me?"

For an instant MacGregor's heart sank into his feet. Standing before him was the very person he had stolen the data from. Suddenly the fear of going to prison flashed though his mind.

"Aye," James replied nervously, his slight Scottish accent giving away his background. "I've heard of ye. Tae what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I'm here to offer you a job." David said, letting go. "At one of my Gen-U-Tech laboratories outside town." 

"Gen-U-Tech." He answered, trying to keep a calm tone. One of the most advanced genetic engineering corporations on the planet! "But I already have a job here, teaching."

He began to wonder if Xanatos actually knew that he had broken into the Xanatos Enterprises mainframe. If Xanatos did know, James was afraid he would use it as leverage to force him to join the firm. Was that what this visit was all about?  blackmailing him into working for no money?

David smiled and stepped into the room, Owen did the same. The assistant gazed coolly at James, making him break into a cold sweat. "So I see, Professor," the rich man continued. "But I've looked into some of your past requisitions for funding to start your own laboratory. All of which have been turned down, I might add."

"So?" James replied, crossing his arms and cocking an eyebrow.

The professor was somewhat displeased by the billionaire poking into his affairs. It was too ironic for his tastes, considering that he had just been browsing through Xanacorp top secret information.

"Owen," he said in a blas‚ tone. "Can you tell me why the professor's requests for funding have been denied?" "Of course, mister Xanatos." Owen replied dryly. He removed a small computer from his pocket he opened it and pressed a few buttons.

"Quite an interesting past, I must say." Owen commented as the information popped onto the screen. "Arrested eight years ago on the charges of illegal computer tampering. It seems you tried to gain access to several bank accounts."

The professor did not like the man's accurate data, but it didn't stop there.

"And just last year an experimental serum you were working on in one of this Universities' labs got out of hand." He added before closing the computer.

"The report was that five students were killed and a dozen more injured. You were arrested and jailed for four months, suspended from here for eight more before coming back as a chemistry teacher." Owen inclined his head to one side. "You got off on a technicality. You should have been put away for life." The assistant paused, then added darkly: "Or death."

"What does my past have to do with this?" James growled irritably, indignant at hearing his past recited to him as if he were a child. "I've done my time and paid my debts to society. Why don't you leave me alone and let me get on with me life?" 

David laughed softly at the professor's remarks. "How cliché‚! Why settle for a teaching job when you work for me? I'd be willing to pay you fifty thousand dollars a month."

The amount he was offered almost caused James to fall to his knees. "F...Fifty *thousand*? But... Why me? I'm sure there's others out there who are more qualified."

"I know," David answered, gesturing in the air with a flourish. "Sevarius, Phobos, Straussmore, and a host of other world-famous genetic engineers that I'm sure a well-informed man like you has heard of. But you see, they're all already working for me, and I want you for a special project. Your qualifications in computer science and biochemical engineering are above standard. You would make an admirable addition to my 'Gene Team.'" The dark-skinned man smiled, narrowing his eyes. "Think about it, Professor. All the greatest minds in your field, gathered together and being paid handsomely for their time. *You* could be one of them, Mr. MacGregor."

"Special project?" he said, puzzled. His brows knitted suspiciously. "If yer asking me to create some kind of weapon you can just turn and leave right now, because I'm not interested."

"Professor MacGregor, I assure you that I'm just an honest businessman." David said. "If I needed genetically-developed super-viruses I could simply buy some off any number of governments, including the United States. No, all I want from you is to perform a series of tests, primarily on the regeneration of damaged cells in the human body."

The billionaire's reason sounded interesting. "Why? Are ya trying to make some kind of miracle cure-all?"

"Something like that." David replied. "If it's successful, then your name will go as its creator. The fame and fortune you will receive will be far better than anything you'll get here."

"And if it doesn't work?" He asked.

Xanatos shrugged. "Then you'll move on to other projects similar to it. If you thought to be fired upon failure you are very wrong. My employees do not get fired unless they perform illegal activities."

"Mister Xanatos is offering you a better living." Owen told the professor.

"Your past will have no effect on your future with Gen-U-Tech."

James sighed and thought about what he was being offered and its possible future implications. With this job he could have access to the latest technologies and scientific minds. His own laboratory with himself in charge, and the pay wasn't too bad either. A tiny voice inside him said not to pass it up, but another side of him felt as if he were being deceived.

'Why should I stay here?' He asked himself. 'I don't even enjoy teaching, and I don't make a fraction of what he's offering me.'

MacGregor removed his lab coat and tossed it onto his desk, grinning widely. "Mister Xanatos, you've just hired yerself a new biochemist."

"Excellent!" David replied, shaking James's hand again. "My aid will see to your leaving the university. Right now why don't you come with me to see your new laboratory?"

The professor nodded his head enthusiastically and followed the pair down the hall, through the front doors and into a sleek black limousine. Owen, as was his job, took the driver's seat and pulled out of the large parking area, maneuvering the heavy bulletproof vehicle with uncanny ease.

Looking down at his watch James noticed that it was almost six o'clock. He had still not eaten and the sounds from his stomach were getting louder. Xanatos noticed his professor's unusual racket and laughed lightly.

"Owen, I think a little dinner is in order." Turning to face the professor he asked, "What kind of food are you partial to?"

"Me?" he replied, pondering for a moment. "I prefer Chinese food myself."

"Very well, Owen, take us to the best oriental restaurant in Manhattan."

Owen nodded his head and within a half hour the three found themselves sitting in an elegant restaurant. The professor was lucky he had been wearing good clothes. They were waited on immediately and the food looked very tantalizing.

"So, mister Xanatos." MacGregor said as he helped himself to the cuisine. "Tell me more about this project I'll be working on."

Looking around to ensure that nobody was listening Xanatos leaned forward and began to explain.

"I'm hoping to develop a serum that will speed the healing of damaged cells in the body." he said, smiling. "Your background in genetic engineering is perfect for this job. "All. the data from previous attempts is already there.

"All you have to do is find out where everybody else went wrong, professor. I know it's possible, but I need you to figure out how to do it."

James swallowed the food in his mouth and pointed his fork at Xanatos. "I know of other geneticists that would probably be better at it them myself. There must be another reason." 

Xanatos shook his head. "No, my dear professor. You're a different kind of scientist, not like the others. You seem to enjoy trying to do what others could not. That's why I need you, not those others who go by the book."

The professor smiled and tried not to laugh. "So I'm being a rogue scientist now, am I? Never quite figured meself as the Frankenstein type. Well, mister Xanatos, I don't a know what you're planning, but I'll give it me best shot."

David smiled, leaning back in his chair, and began eating himself. Owen picked at his food but did not seem to be very hungry.

* * *

Perched atop his favorite reading ladder Goliath was busy perusing a book. He still missed his castle home but this library was a bonus they did not have before. At the moment he was looking through a book entitled "West Side Story". But his mind was not focused completely on the story, for he was instead thinking of the past. For the last few days he had been having dreams he wished he could forget.

Scotland - 980 AD - Castle Wyvern

Goliath and Demona were alone in the woods, concealed amongst the dark branches that stretched out above their heads. Both were sitting on the damp, grassy ground, with her sitting between his legs, the back of her head cradled on his chest. He was gently stroking her long hair and reciting some poems he had read in a book. Her eyes dimly glowed with red fire, like dying embers being stoked in a fire.

"Humans can love just as well as our own kind," he had whispered into her ear.

She turned her face so that she could see his. "They do write lovely poems, don't they?"

"Yes." He replied, his voice low and loving. "But you, my Angel, you are the poem that fuels the fire of my soul." He was feeling wordy tonight, she mused.

Smiling warmly she slowly turned her entire body to face his and placed her hands on his chest. With little effort she pushed his body to the ground, ensuring their faces were never more than few inches apart.

Their mouths parted as they came together, their breaths merged, their passion displayed in the wonderful acts of love. It was not the first time they had made love, but the way she held him in her arms, the way her wings enveloped him, the ways she made it last... It was as if it was his first time, then and every time afterwards.

They were just dreams of the past as it faded to the present again. There were no more woods, no more ponds where they had spent so many hours. Goliath shook the cobwebs from his mind as reality reasserted itself, displacing his dreamland utopia. His fantasy was gone and he sighed his displeasure. He let the past fade away as much as he could and looked down at the book.

It was then he detected footsteps coming from behind one of the many bookcases, sounding somewhat dainty to ears that were accustomed to hearing quarter-ton gargoyles thumping around. Breathing easily he knew it was simply Elisa Maza coming for a visit, as she normally did.

"I thought I'd find you down here, Goliath," she said as he jumped down to meet her, his powerful legs absorbing the fall.  "You like to read a lot, don't you?"

"Yes." He replied, his low, majestic tone as strong as always. "I find reading an escape from reality."

Elisa laughed. "True, but my escape from reality is coming home alive each day to a hot bath."

Goliath smiled and led her up to the clock tower where the others were watching the television.

"Don't you do anything besides watch television?" she asked them.

"Yeah, we help protect Manhattan from evil once in a while," Broadway replied. "We can never thank you enough for bringing this neat stuff. It's not like we can go out and buy it." "Yeah, thanks a lot for thinking of us, Elisa." Lexington said without turning away from the set.

"No sweat, I know how boring it can get up here," she replied, welcoming their thanks. "What are friends for?"

"Friends are fer people who are alone and have nobody else to turn to," Hudson said, reaching down to scratch Bronx.

Brooklyn was the only one who was not present. "True words." Goliath commented. "Is there something we can do for you, Elisa?"

She shook her head and slumped her shoulders in a half-shrug. "Nope. Just came by to say hello before starting my shift. By the way, where's Brooklyn?"

"Oh, him?" Lexington replied. "He said something about going out and cruising the town. Didn't say why."

"Can I have a few words with you before you leave, Elisa?" Goliath asked.

She followed him outside to where the gargoyles hibernated as stone during the day. He approached the railing and jumped onto it with uncanny grace. The air was warm and comfortable, and accompanied by the sounds and light from the city it was tranquil setting. Above the sky was clear and filled with tiny stars, and a quarter moon hung overhead casting soft light onto where they were standing.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

He seemed to hesitate before speaking, as if what he wanted to tell her shamed him.

"For the past few night I've been having an odd dream." He began.

She smiled. "Everybody has dreams, Goliath."

"I know." He replied, sounding more and more distracted.

"It's been about Demona and how we used to feel about each other. I can't get her out of my thoughts, and now she even haunts my sleep."

"Sounds like you're lonely." Elisa replied, quite aware of what he was trying to say. "What you need is somebody you can be with when you're lonely."

"Yes," he said. "I have the others, but they do not see things the way I do. Aside from Hudson they are young and have not yet experienced love."

"You've always got me." She said, placing her hands on his muscular arm.

He sighed as if something pained him. "You are a good friend, Elisa, but I'm a gargoyle, and you're...  You're..."  He could not bring himself to say it. It was hard to accept that after all the emotions welling up within him about her, she was still not of his species.

"Human," she finished. "So what? I'll always be there for you, don't ever forget that."

With his hand he took hers and slid down from the stone railing. He placed both heavy talons on her shoulders and drew her closer to him, so he could actually feel her heartbeat. For a human he found her very attractive, but that's what she was, a human. He started to wonder if she felt the same about him. They enjoyed each others presence.

On many occasions they had saved one another, at least a dozen times over the past two years. He considered her part of his clan now, but he wondered if there was something more. Looking down he noticed that she was smiling. She was not resisting his pull either. As she drew closer he could feel his heart beating faster. A growing feeling of warmth rose up within him. She *was* beautiful, even if she did lack wings, claws, and a supple tail. Her skin, her hair...

Her lovely face was only inches from his when an intruding voice abruptly shattered the romantic the setting.

"Hey, Goliath!" came Brooklyn's voice from above. "Man, you should see some of the things they got on the far side of town. It's something called a Renaissance Faire."

Their silence broken, he let go of Elisa's shoulders and watched as she stepped away from his embrace. Like himself she too looked upset at the interruption. Only a few seconds longer and... "And what? What would have happened?  Brooklyn landed and approached them, a look of fascination on his face. But when he saw the expressions on their faces he frowned, slightly embarrassed. 

"OOPS, I interrupted something," he said, knowing what might have been going on. "I'll go inside and tell the others about the Faire."

Goliath nodded and watched as the young warrior vanished through the door at the base of the clock. He approached Elisa again. His heart and feelings were still there but the setting had been ruined.

"Elisa, I'm sorry if I was..." He started, knowing what would have happened if they had not been interrupted. "I was...  and you looked...  I apologize."

Although she looked disappointed she still held a smile and patted his arm. "Like I said, I'll always be there for you." With that she turned and vanished through the door. Goliath jumped back onto his cornice and sat down. Sighing heavily he let his shoulders and head droop.

"I am still alone." he said softly. "Why is it that when I find something as wonderful as Elisa it slips from my grasp?"

As he sat there, he failed to notice Elisa had returned and was standing in the doorway. She had overheard what he said and wanted to go to him; to feel his strong hands around her again.

Sighing, she suppressed her feelings and left.

The others waved their customary good-byes as she walked down the steps to the library below. At the base of the steps she looked back at the glowing opening above and smiled bitter sweetly.

"No Goliath," she whispered. "You are not alone, nor will I ever let you be."

Walking back though the library she noticed several books on a table near Goliath's ladder. She approached the table and looked at the assortment he had laid out. They had recently been read, and all seemed to cover the same thing.

"Love." She murmured, picking one of the many books, it was entitled: Human Passion. The author was anonymous. She noticed a bookmark and opened it to the page it marked. It was some kind of poem:

When all else fails, and love is beyond your heart,

let go of your feelings and let hatred rot.

For there is always one out there who is like yourself,

you only need to stride ones self. Look not on

the outside,

but what lies within.

Because only then, when the two are joined, will you

find the true meaning of love, from within.

Below it was a hand written note, "For my dear Demona, who is the sun that warms my heart."

From the marks on the page she guessed that Goliath looked at it often. She felt a small tear well up in her eye and roll down her cheek.

Letting the book fall back to the table she hurried out of the library, down the stairs to the station and out the front doors. A few officers tried to talk to her along the way. One in particular was captain Chavez, who had emerged from the ladies' room. Elisa nearly collided with her.

"Elisa." Chavez said, stopping her. "Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"

"My shift started a half hour ago," Elisa replied, trying not to sound too upset. "I'm late for my beat."

Chavez seemed to notice her discomfort. "I've known you too long, kiddo. Something's bugging you, care to talk about it?"

"Not really." She frowned. "Just a case of a broken heart."

"Ah, ha." Her boss frowned. "What happened? Found out he was using you, or is it another woman?"

Elisa felt a small tear roll down her face. "I guess his heart belongs to another."

"If that's true then he's not the right guy," Chavez said softly. "You're young and attractive, I'm sure there's somebody out there. You just need to keep your spirits up, and if you need to talk don't hesitate to call."

"Thanks," Elisa replied, trying to sound relieved.

Feeling a little better she buried her emotions until she was in her car. Rolling down the window she stuck her head out and looked at the clock high above. She did not see Goliath on his cornice and guessed he had gone inside.

Wiping her nose she was kind of grateful that Matt was on another case. She did not feel like trying to explain to him why she was so upset.

* * *

High above the city a new form appeared in the night sky, its wide wingspread producing a very distinct silhouette against the bright crescent of the moon. Demona had not been happy when she discovered Xanatos had recruited the scientist known as James MacGregor.

She had hoped to get to him first but she was sleeping at the time.

A few months ago she had placed a bug in Xanatos's office, made of certain high-quality plastics that wouldn't show up on most scans. It transmitted information in short, modulated bursts at intervals when the Eyrie Building security was at its lowest, and the things it had to report were always most interesting. He often spoke of this Professor MacGregor and what an unusual scientist the man was. She found it interesting and began to wonder if this scientist could help her.

According to the bug Xanatos was going to take the professor out to see his new building. She knew it was located outside of town in a secluded area. It was also well guarded but that did not faze her. Guards were simply lambs to be slaughtered, and fences were a pointless barricade against someone who could leap twenty feet straight up and rend steel with her bare hands. She made a few low circles around the streets, trying to see if she could locate the limousine. Not seeing any sign of it, she caught an updraft and started toward the Gen-U-Tech building. 

There was a good air current and she found herself making better progress than she had anticipated. In a matter of minutes the two story building came into her view.  As she had guessed there were several guards walking the perimeter of the fence; dogs too. She laughed at their protection and descended to the rooftop, almost wishing that a squad of the Xanatos personal army troopers would show up. She could use the exercise, and it had been far too long since her claws were whetted with human blood.

Walking to the edge of the roof she looked down and saw the limo parked next to the front door. There were no other cars positioned in the parking lot: A good sign. She noticed that only two large windows were lit on the second floor and there were shadows within.

Stepping stealthily over the edge, she dug her talons into the thick concrete and made her way down to the window in a manner reminiscent of a descending spider.

When she reached the edge of the lit windows, she slowly looked inside, her smoldering eyes carefully scrutinizing the room. She could see David Xanatos with his aid, Owen; the human never seemed to be without him. The other man present had to be the one she was looking for.

She smiled and bared her fangs; It was the professor whom she wanted to speak with. If he was as good as she had read then he was just the person to undertake her request...voluntarily or otherwise.

David shook James's hand before he and Owen departed, leaving the professor alone.

She considered herself lucky that the large window was already open. With little effort she swung herself inside, landing silently on her feet and uncoiling her body like a tense spring.

The professor was busy looking over some computerized testing equipment and did not seem to notice her presence.

"Fascinating!" he said aloud. "I've only read of these devices in magazines! I feel like a kid in a candy factory."

"You must not eat too much or you'll get sick." She replied, her voice playful with a severe undertone of threat.

He seemed startled, but when he swung around and saw her, he looked absolutely stunned. She was amazed that he did not scream, or even try to escape. The human only stood there, staring at her; Not the type of reaction she was expecting.

"Greetings, professor MacGregor," she said, purposely baring her white fangs to his gaze. "You are just the man I wish to speak with."

"Who..." He stammered. "Who are you? What are you?"

She smiled and stepped closer, enjoying the fact that she intimidated him so. To her amazement he did not try and move away. "My name is Demona, and I'm what your kind calls a gargoyle. What's wrong professor? Am I a hideous creature?"

He shook his head. "Hideous, no." Indeed, he found her surprisingly alluring, a fact which was evident on his face and one Demona did not miss. She blinked at this unanticipated turn of events.

Closing her eyes she growled and bared her fangs, trying to make herself look as scary as possible. When she looked at him again, he seemed to be even more fascinated with her.

She could not understand why the human was not afraid of her. He was either very stupid or very brave, and in her experience there weren't a great number of brave humans. Didn't he know she could run him through with a single claw? 

"Enough of this!" She said aloud. "I've come here to offer you a proposal."

"Another proposal," he said, regaining some of his composure. "What else could happen to me today?"

"Ah," she grinned wickedly. "What else indeed? What kind of project is Xanatos giving you to work on?"

He smiled and shook his head. "He wants me to create a new medicine that will speed up the healing in the human body."

She grinned at the professor's reply, her face resembling that of a tiger about to pounce. "I thought as much, but let's get to my proposal. I would guess that you do not know anything about my kind."

"Not much," James lied, sounding sarcastic since he had read Xanatos' files. "Gargoyles were not one of my studies while I was in school. I thought you were rain spouts."

"Yes, you humans never seem interested in other species," she said. The hairless apes rarely acknowledged their superiors. "Let me tell you a little about my race."

She explained how she turned to stone at sunrise, and flesh again at sunset. The professor seemed interested in her story, and stood with quite concentration while she related her tale.

The way he looked at her made her tail unconsciously fidget. His odd openness was not something she had been prepared for, and she found herself less and less hateful and more and more uncomfortable...or at least, caught off guard.

"Do you REALLY turn to stone at sunrise, or is it some kind of chemical reaction? I mean, if you were to truly turn to stone, how could simple granite change back into flesh and blood?"

"I don't know!" She spat, her eyes thin with impatience, little glowing slits of fire. "It's not as if I'm awake when it happens. Why do you think I went through so much trouble to see you? I want you to find out why we turn to stone at sunrise, and how to stop it."

He listened to what she was saying and then sat down before a computer terminal, more relaxed than he perhaps should have been. "That's being a tall order lass, and an interesting one I must say. But what about the project Xanatos wants me ta work on?"

"You will do as he asks," she answered, seeing that he was interested in her request. "All you need to do is put some time aside for my request. I can pay you for your work, just name your price." And if you set your sights too high, she neglected to add, I'll simply gut you from throat to thorax.

He smiled and sat back in the chair. "Now how can I accept money from one so lovely?"

She shook her head in shock. Why was he acting this way? It was as if he always talked to gargoyles. Why wasn't he afraid?

And why could she not understand why this human found her so fascinating? Could this monkey-thing truly be attracted to her?

What twisted flaw of mating instincts would cause such behavior? His comments about her looks were strange enough, but not accepting money... This human was unlike any other she had encountered, except perhaps Xanatos.

However, deep beneath it all, what made Demona truly nervous was that she didn't know how to react to him. Why didn't she just kill him? Why couldn't she find the conviction? 

"I ask you again, name your price." She repeated, letting her anger show by the redness of her eyes. But it was more feeble than she intended. "I have no need of your foolishness!"

James saw her flaming red eyes; they almost matched her long, blood red hair. He was fascinated by her, the way she looked and acted, her wonderful body. The way her muscles moved so smoothly beneath her skin, the way she radiated power and authority... The sparseness of her clothing did not in any way disgust him either. He loved her leathery wings and long tail, even the light blue coloring of her skin. His eyes found themselves wandering up the curvature of her thigh...

"Tell you what, lass," he replied, getting to his feet.  "I'll take your project, but my fee will come at a later date."

His answer took her by surprise. She did not like to play games, and this human was.

"Then you WILL do what I'm asking of you?"

The Scotsman nodded his head and smiled. "But you must give me your word of honor that you will fulfill the payment I require. Agreed?"

Demona did not like the sound of that. Gritting her shark-like teeth, she walked up to him, grabbed the front of his coat and lifted him off the ground. The professor gasped in amazement as he was lifted three feet from the floor. Razor-tipped claws brushed lightly against his larynx.

"You will tell me your payment now or I will throw you out the window!" she growled. "You're not the only biochemist in this world, Professor. I can easily find another! It's your choice."

"Okay..." He gasped. "Okay, you don't have to be so forceful!"

She could no longer put up with the human. The way he made her feel, not just uncomfortable, but almost...vulnerable. It was sickening, intolerable. Just as she was about to throw him through the window he began pleading something.

"Please, Demona?" Robert gasped again, the terror in his eyes. "I did not mean to anger you so."

This was what she wanted to see and hear, him pleading for his life. She grinned and let him fall unceremoniously to the floor. She felt so much better when her dominance was reasserted over the situation.

"Very well, whatever you want I will give it to you. Now WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"My payment is very simple:  I wish to kiss you." He said this with complete and utter calmness, his face an unchanged mask.

Her mouth dropped open with an almost audible *clack* and as her pupils dilated to stare in shock at him he got to his feet.

Not since she was in love with Goliath did she EVER kiss anybody, and *certainly* not a *primate*. Something inside her forced her to turn away so he couldn't see her saddened expression. She wondered was possessed the human to ask for such a thing.

"But why would you desire to kiss me?" she asked, turning to face him again. The anger in her voice was noticeably forced. Of all the payments on earth, she never would have guessed this one.  It was insanity.

He stepped closer, only this time she did not back away from him. For one small, fleeting moment, she felt defenseless. She *hated* defenseless. "To tell you the truth, I've known of you and your kind. I've known about you all for some time."

"How?" she found herself asking. Her voice held genuine curiosity, and this weakened her position even further. The human now knew that she cared about what he said.

He laughed. "My expertise in computer science isn'ta limit of my schooling. On many occasions I've broken into Xanatos's personal computers and looted data.

"One day, about a month ago, I was wandering through his financial archives and found some personal files. The files were very detailed profiles of seven gargoyles. I viewed them all, but when I came to yours I was stunned."

He smiled and laughed. "Your file was longer than th' others and much more interesting."

Demona frowned. "Then why the ploy? You seemed to know who I was. How?" Grudgingly, her respect for the human had just upped a notch. Deceit was a trait of the strong and the fit, an admirable trait in an ally.

"I know something very interesting, Demona," he said, sounding mysterious.

She began to feel threatened by what the human seemed to know about her. Something strange began to well up within her, though she no longer felt the rage that had been so customary to her over the centuries when she dealt with humanity. She knew she was beginning to lose her dominance over the conversation.

Instead of her telling him, he was beginning to tell her. "You must have other desires," she said, trying to change the subject. "Money, or something else of value? What possible benefit would you get from such an...outlandish fee? I am not even of your species!"

"There is another reason, Demona," he said. It wasn't the first time he'd used her name, but he emphasized it to make sure he held her undivided attention. "One that goes back a thousand years, back to Castle Wyvern itself."

When he mentioned the castle her heart leapt into her throat and she was startled. Unconsciously she retracted from her threatening pose and actually took a step backwards. 

"What do you know of castle Wyvern?" she asked, trying to make sense out of it. "What about the past?" She did not like this, not one bit. She had lost control of the situation.

"You look like the one in my ancestor's journal," he said.

            Are you her descendant?"

Demona needed to step back again, the predator become the prey. "What are you talking about? I am nobody's descendant! What journal?"

Reaching into his pocket he withdrew the leather bound book and showed it to her.

Her eyes fell upon it and she seemed to get very upset. The last traces of violence seemed to crack around her. "Where did you get that, human?"

"It's been in my family for generations. Strange how it's remained intact all those years," he answered. "Do you know of this journal?"

"Know of it!" Demona yelled. "I knew the human it belonged to!"

MacGregor shook his head and tried not to laugh. "That's not possible. He died back in the tenth century. If you knew him then you'd be over a thousand years old."

Demona stepped towards the large window and gazed into the night sky. James sensed that his comment had struck something deep within her.

"I am no descendant of anybody. For over a thousand years I've wondered where that journal had gone," she said softly.

James sat down in his chair and stared at her. "You're playing games with me. If you know about this journal then where did you get those earrings?"

"A very long time ago," she answered. "I knew a human at Wyvern castle that gave them to me before he died."

He was shocked; the answer was accurate but he was still not convinced.

"What did he say to you before he died?"

She touched her earrings and seemed to hesitate. "The feeling one gets from sharing something as simple as a kiss is worth more than anything in the world."

The professor almost dropped the journal as he opened it to the sketched picture he had found earlier. His questions began bringing out something that she had kept buried for a millennium. In an instant her attention focused on another time, another place. She remembered well, and it was a memory she did not wish to remember. But his words had struck deep within her soul, uprooting the events of a time long past in a country half a world away, pulling up thoughts and shameful feelings that she had kept secret for over a millennium.     The mighty Demona was helpless as her mind was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the abyss of the past.

Scotland - 981 AD - Castle Wyvern

Breaking free of her stone sleep she stood from her kneeling position on the tower cornice. Tiny shards of stone chips fell from her bluish skin as she flexed her wings and launched her powerful body into the air, soaring down to the ground below. It wasn't her night to go on guard duty. There was nothing to do but stroll around the castle.

There were a few humans walking around, guards and servants mostly. As she walked she noticed a lone figure in the distance carrying some scrolls.

It was unusual for somebody to be carrying such things around, since many were unable to read or write. The only other human she knew to have scrolls was the Archmage.

She was curious and did her best to try and catch up to the man without seeming to be interested. The human was heading for a small cabin when he stopped and turned around. He had sandy brown hair with matching beard. The man wore the usual soldier's garb, leather armor with a long sword at his side. In his arms were about six scrolls and a small book. If he was a solider, what was he doing with scrolls and a book?

"Is there a reason you are following me, lass?" he asked, smiling. Inwardly she sighed with relief, his comment confirming that he wasn't one of the bigots that were all-too-prevalent in Castle Wyvern.

"I saw you carrying those scrolls," she replied. "I was just wondering where you got them. The Archmage is the only human I know who has such things."

"Oh?" He said, laughing. "These are not magic items, lass, just something I picked up in an old monastery. I am called Robert. Do you have a name, young one?"

"Our kind have no names," she replied. "The gargoyle known as Goliath calls me Angel."

"Angel; a lovely name for a lovely lass." He bowed and waved his hand. "And what is the young Angel doing tonight?"

To tell the truth she really did not know. She was, in fact, quite bored.

"Nothing in particular," she replied. "Can you tell me what's on those scrolls?"

Robert nodded and asked if she would accompany him to his living quarters. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do that, but the scrolls intrigued her. Reluctantly she agreed and followed him into the small cabin. She decided that she trusted him, and after all, what could a human do against a gargoyle?

Robert sat down at a small table and motioned her over. She looked down at the book he had and saw several drawings of two people fighting. She knew the language in which it was written, Latin. The writing seemed to be instructions for each of the pictures.

"Fighting techniques of the monks, milady," he said, pointing to the pictures. "I've been studying their fighting for many years and have gotten quite good."

"So?" She replied, puzzled. "What's wrong with strength and skill of the sword, or a battle-ax?"

"Nothing," Robert answered, holding up one hand. "But this style of fighting, th' only weapons ye have is yer hands, feet and body."

She continued to look at the book as he began to explain each of the pictures. One could disarm an opponent with a quick flick of the wrist, or block with a sudden body movement. It sounded quite interesting.

"I can teach you, if you wish," he said suddenly. "Th' skills are not only good fer fighting, but fer building up power."

The offer for him to teach her sounded rather strange. She could easily kill him. No human yet could match a gargoyle in strength, even one as young as her. Fighting with only hands and  feet? That was fine if you had long, hard talons and horns, but all the humans had were soft pink fleshy fingers with weak nails.  However, the thought was appealing to her and she decided to try it. Perhaps there was something to this after all, and it couldn't hurt to try. At least it would give her something to do.

"Very good," he said, standing. "This isn't the best place to teach. Let us go outside where we can move around." 

She nodded and followed him back outside as he looked around and picked an out of the way area; a small patch of grass. It was rather dark so he went over to some boys and asked if they could go fetch some torch stands. They nodded and scurried away.

"Come," he said, motioning to her. "Stand before me in a position that you would use to attack me."

Not knowing why, she did as he said and took a fighting position where she would leap forward and pin him. Her wings unfurled from their usual cloak-like resting position and fanned out, allowing her full range and freedom of movement. She would not complete the blow, as it was her nature to slash with her talons. And humans were so very, very fragile.

The boys returned a few minutes later carrying five torch stands. Robert arranged them in a wide circle and lit each one as he went along. Soon the grassy area was will enough to provide with ample sight. He noticed that the boys had not left, and the light was attracting others, including guards.

"Okay, me dear," he said, taking up a crouching position in front of her. "Attack me!"

Angel bared her fangs and growled as she leapt at him. She felt a dull thud on her side as he caught her arm and spun her away. The sudden counter sent her sprawling to her back a few feet behind him.

Everyone present applauded Robert's actions. Angel, on the other hand, did not. She had never been so easily tossed away and this angered her. What angered her even more was the fact that everyone who was present had seen what happened. She felt humiliated by a weakling human.

"Are ye all right, m'dear?" he asked, kneeling down beside her. "I apologize if I in any way injured you."

"No!" she hissed angrily. "I should NOT have been so easily thwarted! You used some kind of trick. I'll bet you could not do that to more than one opponent!"

Robert felt bad that he had dishonored her by humiliating her in front of everybody. He had to do something to regain her trust.

"I'll give a gold piece to any one of three men who can best me in hand to hand combat!" He shouted out loud.

She stood up and watched as three burly men stepped forwards to accept the challenge.

'This will be interesting,' she said to herself. 'Let's see how he likes to be humiliated.'

The first man lunged at Robert and tried to punch him in the face. Robert ducked to the side, caught the man's arm and kicked his legs out from under him. The man fell flat onto his back with a dull grunt.

Another man tried to take him from behind and managed to get his arms around him. Robert threw his own legs in the air and got the other man off balance. Both went to the ground, but the man needed to let go. Robert took the advantage and rolled away. The last person watched what had happened to the first two and held his hand up in defeat. "No way, buddy, I'd prefer ta tackle an armed man."

Robert smiled and nodded his head. "You see, Angel? It's very easy when ye get the moves right. I can teach you how to fight in this manner, if you wish?"

She watched as the three challengers left and could not help but smile. His willingness to teach her seemed interesting, but like all humans he would want to be paid.

"I have nothing in which to pay you with," she added.

He shook his head and smiled. "If I require payment I shall do so at another time. Agreed?"

She really did want to learn the new fighting style so she agreed.

From then on, every other night they would get together and practice.

It went on for almost a year.

One day a bunch of rowdy drunks started a fight in a local tavern. It was very late and Robert was on guard, with Angel not too far away from him. In the days they had spent together they had gotten to become very good companions, and were now fighting partners.

Robert overheard the commotion. He took Angel and four other guards to try and break it up. When they entered the tavern there were ten men locked into a bloody brawl. The patrons had left and the tavern keeper was crouching behind the counter muttering angrily to himself about this being the third time in the last two weeks.

When the drunks saw the guards the they went into action and attacked. Whatever their argument was, the guards stepping in made them forget, and the alcohol fogging their minds made them lash out irrationally. The rowdy bunch seemed to be well trained in sword combat and were overpowering the guards. It would be a few minutes before more guards would arrive, so Robert pulled out his sword and joined the fray.

One of the drunks who had just plunged his blade into a guard started towards him. With ease he parried the blow and swiped his weapon in a low arc. The man screamed as the blade sliced through his belly.

He turned to see Angel in melee with another. She was using the new fighting style he had taught her.

The drunk tried to stab her with his knife but she did not let him get near. At one point he fumbled the weapon and she pounced.

She struck the man behind his neck, sending the drunk crashing to the ground. Smiling in satisfaction, Robert was about to go after one of the other brawlers when he noticed something. From the corner of the counter he saw one of the men take out a long, thin dagger and prepared to throw it. From the angle he was aiming at, his target must have been Angel.

In a panic he ran towards Angel, adrenaline fueling his mad  dash. There was not enough time to warn her. She was locked in combat with another and would be unable to respond.

He dropped his sword and grabbed her as he ran past. Robert felt a piercing pain in his back and collapsed. Angel fell from his embrace and tumbled to the ground. She got up and noticed the knife protruding from his back and gasped.

She looked at the drunk who had thrown it and screamed. Anger filled her heart. She could feel waves of hatred flash through her mind. Her eyes glowing red, she screamed and lunged at him.

The man never had time to escape. She lashed out with her talons. Her thirst for his blood seething through her, she let loose with the fury so characteristic of her species and of a woman scorned. The man shrieked as her talons raked his face and neck, tearing deep into fragile tendons and bone. The force of the blow sent him spinning. Dark trails of blood sailed through the air and splattered on the wall. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

There were still three drunks left standing, so she focused her anger and struck. One by one the drunken men were cut down in a bloody rage, regardless of whether or not they tried to surrender. Even after they were dead she raked their bodies to reek her revenge.

When she saw nobody left to tear apart she ran back over to Robert and knelt down next to him. She pulled the knife from his back and rolled him over.

"Robert?" she whispered, almost crying.

Her teacher open his eyes and smiled. He could feel the blood running from the wound.

"Me dear," he whispered. "How goes the battle?"

She looked up to see the other guards cowering away. They were no doubt too scared to go anywhere near her after what she had done.

"We are victorious, my teacher," she whispered. "The ones who hurt you are dead. I have avenged you, Robert."

"That's good," Robert replied simply. A spasm of pain shot through his back, causing him to wince. "But I fear my fighting days are over now."

"No!" she screamed as the other guards approached them. "You will be fine, I still need to you teach me. Please, Robert?"

"Remember when you offered to pay me some time back?" He said, reaching out to grasp her hand.

She took it without question and squeezed. "I do." 

Robert smiled. "For me payment I would consider it an honor to kiss you." His glazed look swept quickly up and down her body, covered in blood and protruding sharp edges, yet still so alluringly feminine:  The perfect blend of savageness and sensuality.

With tears rolling down her cheek she did not ask why. She simply lowered her head to his. Their lips met and they kissed. Their mouths were one. A new feeling welt up within her. She felt it for the other of her kind who had taught her to read, Goliath. He had said it was love and she was feeling it for Robert.

When they broke away she looked down at him, he was rapidly losing his strength. One of the guards ran off shouting for the Archmage, but in her heart she knew it was too late.

"Me dear," he whispered. "You were a good student, you've mastered all me teachings. I want to give you something." 

Reaching into one of his pockets he withdrew a small pouch and held it up. She reached out and took it, upending it she saw two  golden earrings tumble into her hand.

"They used to belong to me beloved," he whispered. "She died a few years back.. Before she died she gave me these. Since I have nobody to give them to I pass them on to you."

Angel shook her head. "I don't want them, I want you."

Robert winced and shook his head. "As long as you keep me in your heart, I shall always be there to guide you. The feeling one gets from sharing something as simple as a kiss is worth more than anything in the world..."

She watched as he went limp in her arms. Gathering her fears she let out a bellowing scream. Streams of salty tears crept down her cheeks and neck. The commotion had attracted many others and they were now standing around them.

"No... My love." She said softly, hugging him as if he were still alive. Inhaling again she held him in her arms and screamed at the top of her lungs. "COME BACK TO ME!" She repeated it several times, each time saying it softer

and softer.

Prince Malcolm was approaching her, the Archmage following close behind. Also in the background were several humans and gargoyles, including Goliath. The prince stepped up looked as the solider in her arms.

"My dear," he said, his caring voice. "He fought bravely and died defending you. By my word he will be forever honored among us."

"My Angel." Came another familiar voice. "He was a friend of yours?"

She looked up to see Goliath approaching, the look on his face was soft and gentle. Looking up from Robert's body she began crying again.

"I'm ashamed for trying to love a human," she mumbled, not wanting to put Robert's body down. "Please forgive me."

Goliath smiled shook his head. "My Angel, I will always care for you. I understand how you felt about the human, you have every right to be sad."

"Robert MacGregor was a good man." Prince Malcolm said. "His loss will weigh heavy on all our hearts."

The people present bowed their heads in prayer. Goliath looked at the human in her arms and felt sorry for her. He bent down and took the human from her. She sniffed and kissed Robert's lifeless lips one last time before taking him outside.

She could not help but still feel love for the human, the man who had accepted her and taught her. In her heart he was the best thing in her life, now he was gone.

Deep in her heart she knew it was her fault, she should have  been more alert. Robert gave his life to protect hers, and there was no way she could repay him for it. After all, he had been but a weak human, and she was the gargoyle; Born and bred to protect. Looking down at the two golden earrings, she swore to cherish them for the rest of her days. More tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued to follow Goliath, and the human she wanted so desperately to love.

Demona was not aware that she was crying. She had not only been remembering the past, she had recited it aloud. It occurred to her that professor MacGregor had overheard the entire thing.

At the moment she didn't care and was sorry she had even come. Her purpose was to enlist his help and what she had gotten was a broken heart. 'What are you doing?!!' a voice deep within her screamed insanely. 'This is a *human*! How can you reveal these things to him?! How can you reveal such *weakness*?!'  But for the first time in centuries, for reasons she could not fully comprehend, she ignored the voice that had governed her actions for so very, very long.

"You have no idea the anguish I went through," she growled softly. "When Robert died a part of me died with him."

The professor felt bad for what he had done to her. He knew she was telling the truth, the journal proved that. He put the book on a nearby table and approached her.

"Demona, please forgive me," he said, sounding sad. "The last thing I wanted to do was hurt your feelings. I would be more than happy to help you."

She sniffed and turned to face him. He saw the wetness in her eyes and sighed his displeasure.

"All I wanted was for him to love me back," Demona said.

"Why wouldn't he accept my love? Why must humans always be so barbaric?"

"Perhaps he did love you, Demona." James answered. "Maybe he was afraid to show it because he did not want to lose you."

Demona swallowed hard and tried feebly to wipe the tears from her eyes. Perhaps she should have struck James when he used a tissue to dab her eyes, cut him down like all the other worthless human vermin she'd butchered over the years, but somehow she didn't have the strength or the conviction to attack him. Something was different about this one. Perhaps...perhaps he was different from all the others. Perhaps he had learned to rise above his pitiful species. When she took a good look at him she could see how much he resembled Robert.

When he touched her face she felt a strange sensation creep up her back. Swallowing again she did the only thing she felt like doing; She began to cry and threw her arms around him. She had never exposed such weakness and vulnerability before, but the secret she had carried over the millennium hurt too much when it was exposed. Her Veneer of hate and constant fury was cracked and broken.

She buried her head into his shoulder and continued to cry. He hugged her tenderly and tried to calm her by saying how much he cared for her himself. He could feel the inhuman muscles moving supply under her smooth skin, hard and sinuous like a jaguar's.

For the first time in a millennium she felt relieved that she could let it out. She felt strangely secure in his arms and did not want to let go. All the barriers of hate and anger she had built up for so long were suddenly missing, letting her emotions escape into the open like a water pipe that burst under the steady pressure of a thousand years.

It took a few minutes of coaxing from him but she finally pulled away from his embrace. She looked down at the journal and sighed.

"Do you know why Robert's journal has been so perfectly preserved all these centuries?" she asked, pointing to the item. He shook his head and said that he had been amazed since he was a child.

"Not long after he drew that picture of me I cast a spell of preservation on the book," she said, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "Since he cherished so much I did not want anything bad to happen to it."

"A spell?" James replied. "I don't believe in those things." 

She let out a soft laugh before speaking. It was the first non-malicious laugh she could remember uttering. "As a scientist you know that no book can survive that long. Whether or not you believe me the book is here, just as it was a thousand years ago.  You humans are so narrow-minded."

The professor sighed and placed the journal back into his pocket. She was correct; no normal book would have lasted even a quarter of the time that this one had.

"My ancestor was a fool to deny your love," he said in a soft tone. "I'd have accepted you in a second, Demona. No matter what happened in my past."

Demona looked at him cautiously. She'd met him less than an hour ago, and he was tearing her insides apart. "A kiss for your payment...? So be it."

It happened so quick the professor didn't have a chance to prepare for it. She leapt at him, grabbed his arms and pressed her face to his. Their mouths met, her tongue gently parting his lips. He could feel her warm breath enter his mouth and he immediately returned the favor. The feeling of dominance she exerted, the sheer thrill of knowing that she could crush him in her arms was strangely exhilarating. It was like tasting a goddess.

She released his arms and, using her hand ran one through his hair. With the other she cupped his cheek and kissed him like she used to kiss Goliath. His hands free, he found himself sliding them under her arms and onto her back. Her bluish skin felt odd to his touch, like smooth leather. Demona did not resist as he pulled her body towards his, savoring the warmth.

A minute passed before she finally pulled her face away, only she did not move away. She looked at his face, and a strange feeling began to come over her. At first she did not understand. The feeling of a thousand years of loneliness seemed to vanish. Hatred and spite were replaced by a yearning desire for things she had not experienced since the Tenth Century. 

He was going to say something but she did not give him the chance. Before he could act she kissed him again, just like she did the first time.

She knew what she was feeling, though it had been hidden from her for all these years; companionship.

When she pulled away again she looked at him and smiled, baring her needle-teeth in satisfaction. "Paid in full," she said, her grin simultaneously both malicious and playful.

"I get the feeling this job will be very interesting," he said softly, rubbing her back with his hands.

"Just think," she purred. "You haven't even started on the project yet. You will no doubt need me around quite often to assist." He didn't know that back-rubbing was a gargoyle's method of inducing mating. His hands sent thrills of pleasure up her spine.

He nodded his head and smiled, wondering why her head was lulling to one side in pleasure. "That is true. I'll need to get blood and skin samples so I can begin to decode your genetic structure. Then I'll need to have the computer examine you as you transform from flesh to stone."

"Will that take long?" she asked, pulling away from his embrace. There was just a hint of suspicion in her words; After all, she had just started a mating ritual with a member of the species she was sworn to exterminate. One thousand years of cynicism did not evaporate so quickly. However, her body was filled with not only lust but the hope that she could develop, in time, a feeling of...love with this man.

If he didn't know any better he would have sworn she looked a little sad. He could understand what she was probably feeling and decided not to move too quickly. He could easily fall in love with her and he wondered if she felt the same way. At the moment it was primarily lust governing his actions.

"The future is a what we make of it, me dear Demona," he said softly, trying to raise her spirits. "Tell me what yer feeling."

She smiled and let out of soft laugh. "I'm not sure I want to tell you." I'm debating whether to sleep with you or kill you, she neglected to add. Perhaps both... James smiled and put a finger to her lips, silencing what she was going to say. "You don't have to, Demona. When the time is right you'll know, until then. . . Who knows? By the way, how did you come to know about me?"

"Xanatos isn't the only one who's skilled in the art of espionage." She grinned wickedly, exposing predatory teeth. "I have his office bugged."

MacGregor smiled and laughed merrily. "You are a very evil creature, Demona."

"Yes," she hissed silently, remembering another human telling her that a few decades ago. His name had been Hitler. "You have no idea of just how nasty I can be."

The professor didn't understand what she meant but he found it very intriguing. Demona was a very unusual person; That's what he adored the most about her, given the few short minutes since he'd met her.

Demona chuckled softly and began looking around the lab. "Tell me about these tests you will run on me," she ordered abruptly.

He nodded and began to explain what some of the procedures that she would have to expect. As he spoke he showed her the lab equipment and how it would be used. To his amazement she seemed to understand what he was saying. He guessed that one could learn a lot in a thousand years.

* * *

Demona and James were not the only two who were sharing ideas. Back at his castle headquarters Xanatos was sitting behind his desk, standing before him was Owen.

"You have news about professor MacGregor?" Xanatos asked his personal aid.

"Yes, mister Xanatos." He replied, his monotone voice showed no emotions. "It appears we have a new player in the game."

He held out a video tape. "I think you'll find it very interesting. It's only about two hours old, but I think you'll get the idea."

Xanatos looked at Owen and noticed that he was smiling at something. Owen *never* smiled.

"What are you so amused about, Owen?" he asked.

"I think you should watch it for yourself," he replied, adjusting his glasses.

David shrugged his shoulders and inserted the tape into the video machine on his desk. The screen flickered to life as professor MacGregor's lab came on. He was talking to James on the screen and explaining the project he was to undertake. They shook hands, the professor asked if he could stay, and he and Owen left.

"I fail to see why you've brought me this," he said, knowing what had already transpired.

"Please continue watching, mister Xanatos, it gets better," Owen replied, looking at the screen himself.

A few minutes later, after he and Owen had left the lab, he saw Demona enter the scene.

He watched as the pair began talking. She asked him to work on the problem of turning to stone during the day. The part he didn't like was when MacGregor told her of how he came to know about the gargoyles.

"Interesting... Illegally accessing a corporation computer system," Xanatos mumbled. "This may come in handy in the event the good professor decides to try and back out."

Owen was right, this was interesting. But the part he liked best was when the professor asked to kiss her. "I like his bravery." Xanatos smiled, but when she actually lunged at him and kissed he gaped. He half-expected her to bite his tongue off. "If only Goliath and the others could see this!"

"That could be arranged," Owen commented.

David thought about it for a moment but shook his head. It would have a great to see Goliath's expression, but an even better idea came to mind.

"No, let the professor undertake her request. I think she's playing him for a fool." He smiled. "All this might prove useful in the future. I think I did very well in choosing professor James MacGregor."

"Excuse me for asking, sir," Owen spoke. "But why do you want professor MacGregor to make this miracle cure?"

Xanatos smiled and tried not to chuckle. "It's not the cure I want, Owen, it's the method by which it's made. Actually Demona's request just might fit into my future plans."

Owen frowned and put both hands into his jacket pockets. "I fail to see what you're planning, Mr. Xanatos."

"Something wonderful, Owen," David purred. "Something to bring the gargoyles back into my service."

"I doubt they will do that while Goliath is around," Owen reminded.

"Perhaps I have a way to change that," he said in an evil tone. "And I think Demona will no doubt want to assist me in doing it."

Owen shook his head and still did not understand what Xanatos was talking about.

Part 2: "Unforeseen Circumstances"

This part takes place one month after part 1, somewhere between the television episodes: "Double Jeopardy" and "Upgrade".

* * *

Professor James MacGregor sat before the complex medical computers, staring at the monitors. Resting on a small metal table near him was a steaming cup of black coffee. A bit away from the medical computer, a large tubular piece of machinery was humming away.

Grabbing the cup of coffee he took a gulp and watched as the scan data began fading onto the screen, sighing contentedly as the scalding liquid burned down through his insides to pool comfortably in his abdomen. At first the image was slightly distorted, but a few keystrokes on the computer corrected it instantly. There were four monitors, each with a high resolution color image of a body scan.

To the normal medical eye, the readouts it was producing would have perplexed the most skilled of doctors. Professor MacGregor was interested in the bio-scans, but he was expecting it. A human's was ordinary. A female gargoyle's, however, was slightly different.

Trying to yawn away the soreness in his body he took another swig of coffee and started reading the screen.

* M.R.I. DATA SCAN READOUT *

Subject: Demona

Height : 6'

Weight : 180.7 lbs.

Body Temperature: 91.7 degrees/f  (ERROR!, ABNORMAL!)

Heart Rate: 190  (ERROR! Does not match body weight!)

Breathing: Normal, no irregularities

Pulse: Elevated, possibly due to increased heart rate

Below it was a detailed scan of her internal organs, brain scan and vials. The professor looked at them and shook his head in wonder. All the parts of a gargoyle's body seemed to be comparable to a human's. There were all the basic organs, no new ones, and all the systems seemed to operate on the same premise. If the chemical controls of a gargoyle's body were different from those of a human's, than at least they were molecularly similar. Clearly, whoever or *whatever* had first created the ancestors of gargoyles, they had obviously modeled their creations after mankind, only with certain... upgrades.

"You have some very odd body functions, Demona," he whispered to himself. "But everything else looks normal. Heart, lungs, stomach and intestines. If it weren't for your looks I'd think you were a pretty healthy human." Indeed, one might be able to engineer a gargoyle from a man simply by adjusting the gene expression of existing human DNA, rather than splicing the genetic materials together. However, gargoyles were magical creatures, and contained mystical traits not found in mankind. Leaning back, he instructed the computer to save the data to tape. The last thing he wanted was to leave this type of scan in the system's hard drive. It was encoded, but he was not taking any chances, not with Demona.

When the computer said it was finished, he removed the tape and dropped it into one of his lab coat's deep pockets. The scan itself had taken nearly an hour and he was quite sure that she would want to get out of the device by now. He had a feeling Demona was slightly claustrophobic.

Standing, he approached the tubular device and pressed a button on the control panel. A door opened and a horizontal table began to slide out. Demona looked strange lying there, her wings wrapped around her body, reminding him of an alluring yet deadly vampire from certain higher-budget horror films. Complete with glowing red eyes. The look on her face told him that she did not enjoy herself.

"Did you know that thing makes a terrible racket from the inside?" she asked as she sat up. "My kind have very sensitive hearing."

He smiled. "Sorry, Demona, but it's all part of trying t' find out why ye turn to stone. We're done here, let's git back ta th' lab so I can'a examine this some more."

She nodded and followed him out of the medical room, draping her extra limbs about her like a cloak. His lab was upstairs, so they took the elevator. What he didn't know was that the scan did not finish saving. MacGregor was not paying attention to the screen when it said it was finished. Back in the room one of the screens was displaying a message.

SCAN PASS 1 (NORMAL M.R.I. SCAN) - COMPLETED NORMALLY (SAVED)

A second passed before another line appeared below the

first. The empty drive whirred nosily, searching for the tape,

which was in the professor pocket.

SCAN PASS 2 (REPRODUCTION) - COMPLETED NORMALLY (SAVING)

ERROR! ERROR! CANNOT SAVE TO EXTERNAL DRIVE - TAPE MISSING

SAVING DATA TO MAIN SYSTEM DRIVE, PASS ENCODED BY:

Professor James MacGregor, Main Genetics Lab

FULL SCAN COMPLETED -- SYSTEM CLOSEDOWN COMMENCING

The hum from the tube diminished as the computer shut each system down for the night. One by one the screens went blank and their displays were replaced by the Gen-U-Tech logo screen. Unaware of what had just transpired, professor MacGregor and Demona stepped into the lab. Demona smiled and took a seat next to the main computer, swinging her tail around the chair's back.

James sat next to her.

As he inserted the tape he sighed and leaned back, rubbing his eyes. "These long nights are a killin' me, Demona. Would you mind if we let th' computer tackle it fer the night?"

She looked at him and smiled slyly. "Are you trying to say that I'm wearing you out?" Her lips parted in a grin that would have scared a man who was not used to seeing her.

He nodded his head. "I need some sleep, Demona. I canna turn to stone like you, we humans must slumber when we're tired."

"Very well," she replied, patting his shoulder. "Come, you will be my guest tonight at my home."

The professor smiled and removed the tape from the drive as he stood up. He did not know where she lived, but now was a good a time as any to find out.

"Thank ye, lass. You donna know how much this means ta me."

Demona stood herself and started towards the window. It was a clear night and the moon was almost full. She watched as he opened the safe and placed the tape within it. As she gazed at him she began wondering if she doing the right thing, getting involved with a human. She found him very attractive, especially for someone with three limbs too few, and the way he pleased her senses was wonderful. A thousand years of cumulative mating urges were suddenly screaming to be let out, and she kept them bottled just below the surface of her emotions.

He said he was finished and that they should get going. She nodded and walked with him to his car, her almost feline gait attracting his eyes. Her body seemed to simply flow forward when she walked, in perfect harmony with itself and her environment.

She was not accustomed to riding in cars, but really did not feel like flying. "I'll pick you up down the road a piece," he said, knowing full well that the guards would check him at the gate. He'd rather not explain to Xanatos why two of his security people were found mauled to death at the front gate... She nodded and began climbing up the side of the building to the roof. He watched in fascination as her talons dug easily into the hard concrete, crunching loudly through the tough material.

When she was perched on the edge she spread her wings and leaped into the air with inhuman power, launching herself twenty feet into space before she caught an updraft and soared into the indigo night sky.

An invisible thermal flow filled her wings and she ascended gracefully up and out of sight. 

"Amazing!" he said in fascination. "If only I could fly like that."

It was then a new idea came to him; he had her genetic makeup and bio-scans. He was a geneticist and quite aware of the steps it took to clone DNA. If he could somehow create a serum to inject himself, it was possible he could turn himself into a gargoyle.

"We could be together always," he said softly, looking down at his human hands. "To have such strength, the ability to glide on wind currents." Yes, it could actually work! Dr. Phobos and Sevarius excelled in the fields of recombinant DNA technology, and all their work was on file. Anything he couldn't figure out for himself could be provided for him by Xanatos Enterprises! But how could he work on yet another project when he was already killing himself with two? Somehow, he said to himself, somehow he would find a way.

Smiling with the possibilities he hurried into his car and drove off. As was their normal routine, the guards checked his pass and let him leave without so much as a wave. 

Demona was not too far down the road, standing slightly behind a tree. She waved and stepped out as he approached a dark angel materializing from the forest's edge. After getting in, she instructed him on how to get to her castle home.

It took about a half hour, since he needed to take every side street to avoid traffic and the public. As they approached the stone structure he was amazed at the size of her property. Ironically enough, her home's parapets were adorned with other gargoyles, of the type which obviously did not turn to flesh at night.

There was a stone wall with security cameras that were constantly moving left and right. The entire place looked like it was taken from a horror movie. It stuck out like an open sore among the buildings and skyscrapers, from the looks of the overgrown vegetation it was not kept up.

"You live in a odd place, Demona," he said, looking at the KEEP OUT sign over the gate. "Are ye rich?" Stupid question. He stopped at the iron gate where upon she got out and walked over to the intercom button. Overhead a camera was pointed down at the drivers side window. She pressed some buttons and spoke into the speaker.

"Let's just say I've been saving over the years," she replied, smiling secretively. "Front gate, Dominique Destine, security pass seven five oh nine."

The gate buzzed and swung open. She got back into the car and told him to drive up to the stone house. As they passed through the gate and into the front

yard he could not help but be amazed.

"Is that yer real name?" he asked. " Dominique Destine?"

She laughed and shook her head. "Who do you know would sell such a place to a gargoyle named Demona? I go by a plethora of non-de-plumes, including Dominique Destine and Angelica MacAnay."

"I still donna understand how you bought this place," he replied, pulling up to the front steps. "You had to talk to a real estate agent in person?"

Demona sighed and hoped he would not begin asking such questions, but it was unavoidable.

"While I was still allied with Xanatos I accumulated quite a few favors that he owed me. Besides, I was not a gargoyle during the day at the time," she answered. "Up until two months ago I was under the spell of a pesky little Imp called Puck. I turned into a human at sunrise instead of stone."

"Human?" he replied, suddenly startled. "Why din'a ye tell me that before?"

"It's a long story that I'd prefer to tell you inside," she said, getting out of the car. "Come, while there's still some night left."

He was very puzzled now; if she turned into a human during the day then why did she need his help? Shaking his head he decided to follow and get some more answers.

When they were inside she led him past several museum pieces that looked centuries old. Statues, pictures and tapestries were in abundance. There was even a portrait of some regal-looking man; when he asked her who it was of, she sneered and spat the name "MacBeth" contemptuously. He decided to drop the subject.

She led him into the living area and sat down on the soft padded couch.

"Come," she said, patting the cushion next to her. "I think you'll find this tale both interesting and unbelievable."

Without saying a word, he nodded and sat next to her, smiling slightly when her tail curled up around his leg. Apparently Demona didn't even notice that she'd done this. She closed her eyes and began telling him about how she came into possession of a certain mirror. The mirror had a special purpose, to bring a Child of Oberon into the world.

She went on to tell him of the huge workings of magic between the human and gargoyles; How the Imp had twisted her instructions and turned the humans into gargoyles, and the gargoyles into humans.

When she told him how Goliath had freed the Imp and cast the spell upon her, he was stunned. But it didn't stop there; she went on about the Three Weird Sisters and how she and MacBeth were linked for eternity. She decided to leave out the part about her going on a rampage, slaughtering all the humans who had  been turned to stone.

Then there seemed to be silence, or at least that's what she remembered.

"If you were taken by these, 'Sisters,' then why are you back here?" he asked, still somewhat puzzled.

"I don't know, one day I awoke from a slumber here," she replied, hunching her shoulders. "Not that I minded, but I thought I was still under the spell of Puck. It turned out that I wasn't, and thus turned to stone at sunrise instead of human."

The professor sat back and said nothing, she sat back with him and placed her arm around his neck.

"Are you. . ." she began, her brow knitting slightly. "Are you angry at me for keeping this a secret?"

"Angry?" he replied, smiling. "Nothing ye can say could ever get me angry at ye, dear Demona." And God help us both if *I* ever get *ye* angry, he reminded himself.

She smiled and wrapped her other arm around his neck. With no resistance he leaned back as she kissed him. With his own hand he slid them under her arms and onto her back.

She had to hesitate. What was she doing? part of her reflected. This is a *human!* A filthy disgusting *human!* How can you be thinking these things about an inferior species? You are defiling yourself! She sighed inwardly and looked over at him, staring back at her with those beautiful eyes, so gargoyle- like...

"That's it!" she thought suddenly. "How could I be so foolish? He's not a human. He could never be one of them."  She grinned, displaying twin rows of fangs. No matter what he looked like, James MacGregor was no human. He was better than them. He was *superior* to them, all the rest, the whining, weak, pitiful pink fleshlings that were so easily broken. 

No matter what his appearance is, she said to herself. He is a gargoyle! This revelation enthralled her, and she saw him in a new light. To her he was suddenly one of her own kind, not some foreigner... And suddenly one thousand years of suppressed mating instinct surfaced.

Rolling over she lifted one leg and sat on his lap, facing him. His eyes widened with her sudden and obvious change in attitude, but did not complain when she forced her mouth to his. They gazed into each others eyes and continued to kiss, soft and passionate. She wrapped her wings about him like a soft, velvety cocoon and pushed against him with her hips. After a short time she found him caressing her body in sensitive areas.

"Why don't I show you the rest of my home." She purred, a sensual yet inhuman sound, now that she was aware of his intentions toward her.

Sliding away from him into a standing position she helped him up and led him into the foyer. She pointed to a stone arched doorway and said that there was a granite stairway leading to the upper rooms.

* * *

Outside the bank Elisa and Matt crouched behind her vehicle as random gunshots whizzed from the bank windows, shattering the otherwise still silence of the night. The shots would sometimes hit a nearby police car, or echo into the air.

Several police radios were being used as multiple transmissions crackled to life. Matt reached in and grabbed the mike in their car.

Not too far away a news team was set up behind police lines and were filming the entire robbery, even though one of their reporters had already been shot with a high-powered rifle.

Needless to say, he was no longer reporting.

"Base, this Matt Bluestone," the detective said, pressing the mike's side button. "Where's that SWAT team, we've got a shoot-out down here! Reports confirm that they have hostages."

"This is base, SWAT team en route..." came the reply. "E.T.A. fifteen minutes, hold your position until then."

"Ten, four," he replied tossing the mike back through the window. "Heck of a way to end the late shift, eh, partner?

"Ain't it convenient for thieves that we have twenty four hour banking. Just another typical New York City night."

Elisa stole quick look into the air. In her mind she knew what was coming.

A shot rang from the bank, grazing the hood of her car with a loud *spang.* Her thoughts were dragged back to reality by it and she crouched down further. That was going to kill her insurance premiums.

"Hey!" she shouted. "That's original paint!"

Matt shot her a look of surprise. "You have a lot of respect for those hostages, don't you?"

Elisa simply shrugged her shoulders and looked into the sky. She knew there would be a SWAT team coming, only it wasn't made up of crack policemen. Her special team had wings, and the strength to put an end to all of this.

Matt looked up and shook his head. "By the time the team gets here it'll be time for breakfast."

"Yeah," she mumbled, knowing full well that the news media alone would bring the Gargoyles here. "At least this time we aren't dealing with multimillion dollar energy weapons or any of Dracon's particle beam guns."

Within the bank were four masked men. One was stashing money into brown bags behind the tellers' windows. Another was pointing a gun at the employees who were huddled into a corner. The last two were watching through the front windows, taking a shot now and then to keep the police from rushing in.

"Hey!" yelled the one holding the hostages. "Will you hurry it up?! We gotta get outta here, fast!"

The man looked up from the teller's window and told him to keep his mouth shut. He jumped over the counter and went into one of the offices.

One of the men keeping watch heard a soft noise from somewhere above them, almost like rustling leather. Cocking his gun, he looked up to see five hulking creatures falling out of the air, all teeth and fangs and horns. He screamed and began shooting wildly at the monsters, not one bullet connecting with anything substantial.

Goliath roared as he landed next to the man, his feet smashing spider-web cracks into the marble floor. Baring his fangs, he grabbed the assault rifle and with little effort crushed it. He quickly seized the shooter by the front of his coat and heaved him towards the other one holding the hostages at gun point.

Hudson needed to move out of the airborne man's path and the two thieves connected, both crumbling to the floor. Goliath looked to see Brooklyn and Lexington stalking the one in the office, and Broadway was growling at the other lookout. The men were so terrified that they didn't even try to open fire. When his prey tried to turn and run, Broadway grabbed the man's collar and punched him in the face. A loud, dull *thunk* was heard as his fist made contact, not encountering much resistance as it struck the criminal's nose. The poor soul fell from his grasp into a heap on the floor.

They had just enough time to see the last guy flying out the office door into the far wall. Brooklyn stepped out, slapping his hands together, a look of satisfaction on his face. Lex was right behind him.

"I don't think they liked our offer," Brooklyn said, smirking. "And I don't like to be ignored."

"Come," Goliath said sternly. "Let us leave here so the police can take them into custody."

One by one they leaped into the air, dug their talons into the wood and climbed to the ceiling, leaving a long series of claw marks in the wall. A large glass skylight that had been their access was now their exit.

As the last one scrambled through the opening the hostages slowly broke away from each other and gaped. The bank manager shook his head and went to the front door to get the police.

Elisa, seeing the man emerge from the door screaming for them not to shoot, knew what had happened. As by instinct she looked up to see Goliath and the other gliding away from the building.

She muffled a low laugh and stood up.

* * *

"Do you realize the cost of this new project you've finished?" Owen commented as he followed Xanatos into the elevator.

Xanatos inserted a key into the panel and turned it. The elevator began moving upwards, to his castle headquarters.

"I'm quite aware of how much I spend," he replied, putting the key into his pocket. "But when you see how well the new Steel Clan robots have turned out you'll change your thinking."

"Indeed," he replied, adjusting his wire-framed glasses. "You are still determined to destroy the gargoyles? I thought you had decided to let them live?"

"I never said anything about using them against the gargoyles, Owen." Xanatos said, smiling. "I want them for a special job."

His employer had apparently not told him of his plans. "Special job?"

Xanatos simply looked at him and smiled. "Let's just say I'm having strange feelings about professor MacGregor and Demona."

Owen still had no idea what he was talking about and decided not to push the matter any further. As the elevator came to a stop the doors opened, revealing a long stone hallway. Stepping out, Xanatos led the way, the hard soles of their shoes echoing off the cold stone. They passed several security doors before stopping. The steel door in front of them had a yellow oval on its face with the words "Authorized Personal Only!" He inserted a key card into a security scanner next to the door and it hissed open.

Within were several high tech computer systems. The vast complex machinery was humming softly as numerous screens displayed data. There was nobody around and the room was empty, with the exception of a platform with five figures covered by a heavy sheet.

"Come," Xanatos said, stepping closer to the covered forms.

"When you see this you'll know why I kept it a secret."

As if he were showing off some grand piece of artwork, the multibillionaire grabbed a corner of the sheet and pulled. When it fell to the ground Owen needed to step back in wonder, though his face registered as little emotion as ever.

Standing before him was a gargoyle that Owen had never seen before. The beast was standing there, wings draped around his shoulders, and it seemed to be asleep. The thing had blonde hair and a brownish complexion.

"What are they?" Owen said, quite impressed, as indicated by the elevation of a single eyebrow.

David laughed. "The newest in bio-mechanical engineering! They look real on the outside, but inside is a powerful Steel Clan skeleton. I was inspired by a rerun of 'Terminator 2.'" Owen cocked another eyebrow and Xanatos shook his head. "I'm kidding, Owen, just kidding."

"But, how do they fly?" he asked, finding no thruster pack on the bio-robot.

"The thrusters are in the sole of the foot and are only for getting off the ground. The exhaust vents then iris shut,"

Xanatos began to explain. "But like the real gargoyles they need to glide on air currents."

"Quite fascinating, sir," Owen replied as he watched his employer uncover the others.

If he hadn't know better he would have sworn that he was standing before real gargoyles. There were five of them, three males and two females. Each had their own characteristics and skin colors, but they looked very lifelike. Even their skin was warm to the touch.

Owen could not help but stand there in stoical wonder. "Their wings are the best achievements," Xanatos began. "Micro hydraulics hidden under real tissues.  I modeled the whole design on living beings, and even toyed with the idea of making a nanotechnological immune system... But I decided to save that for a later project. These androids are not only stronger than the older Steel Clan robots, but each has its own AI computer, thanks to pioneering advancements my programming staff made on Coyote."

"Artificial intelligence?" his aid replied. "Why go through all this for the professor and Demona?"

"I think he's keeping something from us, Owen," he said in a low tone. "I have no access to the Gen-U-Tech computers because the good professor has locked out all outside access. "And from watching the camera he does not save anything to the system drives." He frowned. "He puts it all on tapes and keeps them locked away." Xanatos ran a finger along the cheekbone of one of the female robots. "Besides, it wasn't all that much trouble. I already had the technology under development for a different project; One named Athena. But you don't have to worry about that one-- It's just a minor project, one that I don't expect any trouble from. Let's go on to other business."

Owen knew his employer did not like being kept in the dark about any of his projects. But for whatever reason, Xanatos had built these new robots for some strange purpose. He cared little for the perplexing reasons of his employer, but he respected them nonetheless.

* * *

Demona lay there in her large bed, the slow heartbeat of her human love in her ear. She was nestled up next to him, her arm and head resting on his chest. Through the covers she could feel her limp wings resting against his body, allowing her to seem to surround him.

It was strange lying on a bed in her gargoyle form; she would have thought it would be uncomfortable. To her amazement it was just the opposite. She needed only to relax her wings.

On a small table next to the bed was a very old leather journal. Worn with age, it looked as if it would fall apart at the slightest touch, yet it held itself together with an unnatural tenacity. Reaching over, she took it and started looking though the yellowed pages. It was a complete history of Robert MacGregor, and she was amazed it still existed. His every thought and adventure were there, many with ink sketches.

She had been pleased when James told her he had brought it in with him.

About halfway into it she noticed that he had written about her. When they had met in the castle, their sparring and the other moments they had spent together. She even found the quote he told her before he died. He had apparently thought of it but had never had the courage to tell her.

'The feeling one gets from something as simple as a kiss is worth more than anything in the world.'

At one point she found a sketch of herself, kneeling atop a rock on what looked to be a beach and staring off into the dark horizon with regal defiance.

As she gazed at the sketch her mind went back to Castle Wyvern and the times she and Robert MacGregor had spent together. She could not think of anything that could have stopped her from loving him. It was a foolish thing, she knew, but she had been quite the fool back then...

Wandering, her mind seemed to fly away on its own, drifting into the past, into wonderful memories.

Scotland - 981 AD

The sun had long since disappeared beyond the western horizon, leaving the clear sky filled with the brilliant pinpoints of the ever-mysterious stars. It wasn't too often that she left the walls of castle Wyvern, but when Robert MacGregor invited her to walk with him on the beach she did not refuse.

With the moon overhead one could clearly see the slow rolling waves of the ocean. As each wave slapped the smooth sand it foamed and slid back into the sea. The sand was still warm from the sun beating down on it all day, heated by a ball of unimaginable fire that she was sure she would never see. She found the warmth rather pleasing. 

Wearing nothing but his normal civilian clothes, he and Angel walked side by side. They did not speak to one another, but both seemed happy to be together.

Not too far off was a large flat rock, where the moon's light seemed to shine upon its smooth surface. He looked at her and pointed to it. She nodded and followed, her clawed feet leaving dragon-like prints behind her.

He asked her to kneel on the edge facing the ocean. She asked him why and he said he wanted "to take down a memory." Not knowing what he meant, she did as he asked and waited patiently.

Robert remained on the beach and removed a leather bound book from his pocket. From the other he pulled out a plugged ink well and a small, feathery quill pen. He found a piece of driftwood and sat down upon it's worn surface. Opening the book up to a clean page, he looked up at her and began sketching on the parchment.

For a long time he sat there, looking up for a second once in awhile and then continuing with his drawing. At one point she though it would take forever for him to finish, and so she was grateful when he finally did say he was done.

"Come, little Angel," he said, waving her down. "See how I've captured yer beauty?"

She stood and hurried back to him, taking leaps and bounds that were short for a gargoyle but would have broken a man's legs. He blew on the ink to dry it some more and showed it to her. It was beautiful, the way he captured the background with her in the foreground and the moon's light from above.

"It's wonderful, Robert," she replied softly, smiling. "You seem to be skilled in several arts."

He smiled back and replaced the book into his pocket, along with the other implements as well. Taking him by the hand, she led him back onto the rock and sat upon the edge.

The wind had picked up a little and the sea was slightly rougher. As the waves would strike the rock a fine mist would cascade in the air before them.

"Robert," she said quietly as he sat next to her. "You are the only human I know who's ever befriended a gargoyle the way you have me. You've taught me many things, not just fighting, but other ...arts, as well."

From the soft tone of her voice he got the general idea of what she was talking about. He tried to think of something to say but he was unable to do anything but take in a deep breath. She was a lovely creature, perfect in every way, and he respected her for it. But...

Reaching up, she touched his cheek and gently ran her clawed finger down his neck. She leaned towards him, her mouth parted in a thin smile. He seemed nervous and took her hand into his to stop her from going any further.

"What's wrong, Robert?" she asked, not sure of why he stopped her affectionate advances. "I thought you... cared for me?"

"I do, little Angel." he sighed, rubbing her hand. "More than you can imagine, but yer heart already belongs t' another."

"My heart belongs to whoever I want it to," she replied, trying to sidle up next to him. "I want you to have it." 

Robert let go of her hand and turned his head. "You are very beautiful, Angel, and I'd accept you in a second."

"But...?" she sighed, knowing what he was going to say.

"You're a human and I'm a gargoyle. Who cares? We'll leave the castle and go someplace else; Others have done so before, gargoyles with human mates who were afraid of how the clan would react. We can be together, Robert, just you and me."

He shook his head and tried to hold back the dampness that formed in his eyes. "I wish I could, little Angel, more than anything. But I cann'a leave my position at the castle. And I canna ask ye to leave yer kind.

"You would be better off with th' other gargoyle ye seem to care fer," he said, wiping his nose. "I already lost someone close ta me, an' I donn'a want that to happen again. Please forgive me."

She swallowed hard and tried her best not to let her emotions overpower her. For a moment she felt like throwing her arms around him but decided not to. Thick foot-talons dug into the sand with anxiety. They were good friends, and she did not want to jeopardize that aspect of their relationship, too. Deep in her heart she felt a growing feeling of love for the human.

Wiping a tear from her own eye she took his hand into hers and said that she understood, but the words coming out of her mouth meant nothing. Didn't he understand? He smiled and put an arm around her, pulling her close. She sniffed and leaned into his warm hug, the little hands on the tips of her wings running through his hair.

"We will always be friends, me Angel," he said, slowly rocking her back and fourth. "In combat we shall fight side by side, and I shall guard you with my life."

She started to cry silently into his shoulder. "I would give my own life to save yours, Robert. Any who make an attempt on your life will regret it."

"Come now, little Angel," he whispered. "'Tis time we be gettin' back to the castle."

That was the last thing she felt like doing. The setting was perfect and she enjoyed the warmth of his embrace. She would give anything to win his love, even at the cost of her own life. He was worth dying for.

As she let the journal close she could feel tears of both sorrow and rediscovered joy drip noiselessly down her face. The droplets hit James's chest lightly and rolled down his shoulder onto his neck.

Robert MacGregor had given his life to save hers, just as he had said he would. Now she found herself wishing it had been the other way around. Things were so much simpler then, before the Archmage, before the visit from her future self, before the Wyvern holocaust and the Vikings, before Avalon and MacBeth and Xanatos and Coldstone and the Phoenix Gate....

She moved her head so she could look at his face. He looked so peaceful as he slept, the soft sounds of his breathing. Perhaps it was a good thing he asked her to go easy on her project. They could use the extra time to be together, not as working partners, but as lovers. He was not like the other humans, not like the rest of that savage, worthless species.

"Nothing," she said softly. "Nothing will come between us this time, MacGregor. Not Xanatos, not Goliath, not anybody."

It wouldn't be long before the sun would begin to rise. Now that she turned to stone during the day she did not want it to happen here. She would crush him for certain. Gently lifting herself off him, she pulled the covers from her body and stood up, wings draping themselves over her like a dark, velvety cloak.

Her garments were resting on the floor next to the bed and she grabbed them. As she was getting dressed she heard James begin to stir. Still adjusting her top, she knelt back on the bed and watched as he opened his eyes.

"Where are you going, Demona?" he asked, still quite tired and blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"The sun is going to come up soon," she replied, stroking his hair. "I have to revert into my stone form." She winced slightly as she realized she was leaving him vulnerable during the day. Even after all this time she still contained the basic gargoyle need to protect. It was an inescapable urge, unique to her species in its intensity.

He slowly sat up in bed, swaying slightly from the head rush. "We should get back to the lab so I can examine this."

She shook her head and pushed him back down. "Nope. You're going to stay here and get some more sleep. You asked me to let you relax and you're going to  do it." She grinned, fangs glinting in the dim light. "I took a lot out of you last night, after all."

He knew better than to go against her word. In the month they had been together one thing he knew was not to anger her. Nodding his head he promised to get more sleep, but said he would have to return to the lab later. He said Xanatos would get suspicious if he were missing.

She agreed and gave him a long kiss before leaving him alone in the room. As he watched her leave, his eyes allured by her supple tail, he began wondering again what it would be like to be a gargoyle. As his eyes and mind drifted back to sleep he could think of all the possibilities...

* * *

At the gargoyles' police clock tower, the entire clan was taking it easy. Broadway and Brooklyn were sitting in front of the television watching The Lion King, Hudson was busy reading a book and Lexington was showing Goliath what the Internet was. Lexington loved his new computer. Everybody was shocked when Elisa had brought it. It was the most expensive thing she had got them as of yet. Lexington in general was thrilled and very appreciative of her latest gift. When Goliath asked her why she had bought such a expensive gift she simply said it was on sale. Amazing what one could do on a detective's salary.

She had said that it had a high speed modem and was already set up for Internet access. Lexington knew what she was talking about and thanked her continuously. He was even able to get a T3 shell.

"See," he said, pointing to some text on the screen. "Anything you want to know about gargoyles."

Goliath watched as a small box in the upper corner reveled a feminine stone figure perched as a rain spout. "That's a very impressive gargoyle, Lexington. Not one of use, I should say." 

But still somewhat attractive, he mused to himself with a grin. "Nope," he replied, moving the mouse pointer to the scroll bar and shifting the text off the screen. "Anything you want to know is here. Pick something, Goliath. Anything."

"Hmmm," he mumbled, trying to think of something. His eyes narrowed. "What about... Shakespeare's plays?"

"Sure." Lexington replied, typing on the keyboard. "Just watch and see, it's really cool!"

When he had typed in the search pattern the computer screen cleared and a list took its place. It was in alphabetic order and everything Shakespeare had ever done in his rather colorful life was there.

Lexington moved the mouse pointer to the picture and clicked the mouse button. The screen cleared and displayed the man's complete history, from his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon to his death in 1616. Goliath was suddenly fascinated with what the Internet was capable of.

"Very impressive, I must say," Goliath said, smiling. "Can you read his works on this as well?"

"Sure," the kite-winged gargoyle replied, returning to the previous screen with a click of the mouse. "Which one do you want?"

Goliath looked at the long list and came across a particular play he was familiar with.

"Macbeth," he said, pointing to the name. "Bring up that one if you would." Perhaps he could find a clue as to how Shakespeare had learned of Puck and Macbeth. Could he have known Demona? She certainly seemed like the Lady Macbeth of the play... Lexington nodded and put the mouse pointer over "Macbeth" and clicked the button. There was a momentary pause as the information was downloaded. When it finished, the complete works of the Macbeth play were there, along with historical references. Goliath began reading the familiar text and was even more impressed.

"I would be interested in this fascinating thing myself," he replied, placing a hand on Lexington's shoulder. "Is it hard to use?" "No way," he answered. "I'd be glad to show you how the computer age works. Any idiot can use the computer. Why, through chat rooms I've talked to fanfic authors who don't even know all the DOS commands."

Goliath smiled and kneeled down next to him, watching and listening to what he was told. It was rather interesting just to see how Lexington had adapted his own typing style to suit his unique fingers. A short while later they heard Elisa enter, carrying some books. Broadway saw the load she was carrying and went to help.

"Greetings, lass," Hudson said, marking a spot in his book and setting it down. "More stuff to read, I see. Thank ye, Elisa."

Bronx looked up from his sleeping rug next to Hudson's chair and wagged his stubby tail at her presence. Elisa smiled and wondered if he smelled her cat, Cagney, on her clothes. 

"Keep this up and you'll have a library similar to the one downstairs," she replied. "How's the computer working, Lexington?"

"Great!" he answered. "I'm showing Goliath how to use it. He likes the Internet access you got for me, thanks!"

She smiled and went over to see what they were doing with the computer. It wasn't her specialty, but she knew what Lexington and Goliath were doing. The other thing she knew about personal computers was how much one cost.

"Going off shift, Elisa?" Goliath asked, taking a short break from the computer.

"Yeah. That bank job you broke up earlier was the highlight of my shift," she replied, yawning. "Good work on the thugs, I don't think they'll pull something like that again." Considering two of them are in traction and one's in a mental ward, she thought.

Goliath smiled and led her up the steps to the clock face and out onto the platform. She followed without question and leaned against the stone railing.

"What's up?" she asked gently.

"Nothing," Goliath replied, looking out at the city wistfully. "Why do you ask?"

"Because when you bring me out here you usually have something on your mind," she smiled. "Spill it."

He sighed and looked at her, a thin smile on his face. "I would like. . . That is, are you busy right now?"

"No. I just got off my shift," she answered, knowing well what he was trying to say. She looked up at him encouragingly, her eyes mesmerizing in the moonlight. "Why?"

Goliath shook his head slightly and seemed to hesitate, like he was trying to find the right words. He was so awkward whenever he was close to her...

"Would you care to walk with me in the park tonight?" he finally asked. "I could use the... companionship." He turned his head immediately after he had said it, his face turning a deeper      hue, instantly regretting that he'd blurted that out so quickly. How embarrassing.

Elisa smiled and felt impressed. "You mean you're asking me on a date? Goliath, I never thought you'd ask such a question. Of course I'll go with you."

Goliath blinked at her in surprise and then looked at her warmly. He seemed to feel better and the smile on his face proved it without question. Going back inside, he told the others that he was going out for a while. When they asked why he said he and Elisa were simply going out to see the sights.

When Elisa stepped up behind him she gave the others a fast wink and ginned. She shook her head silently so that Goliath would not see her.

Brooklyn noticed it and whistled. "Hey, Goliath is taking Elisa out for a date tonight." He grinned maliciously in that boyish teen-aged manner of his.

"Good for you, lad!" Hudson said happily. "Nice to see you're seeking female companionship again."

The others laughed aloud, making Goliath to feel out of place with them. He fidgeted his tail nervously, and his face blushed a deeper shade of purple.

Elisa noticed it and patted his arm. "We'd better get going, Goliath, before they find out you're taking me to the park." She put her hand over her mouth in mock gesture of shock. "OOPS, I guess I don't know when to keep quiet."

"Sounds romantic," Lexington said with batting eyes, clapping his hands together and smiling with patronizing sweetness. "The moon, the clear night, just the two of you. Quite a love scene if I ever saw one."

Hudson stifled a laughed and held up his hand. "That's quite enough of that, lads. Leave yer poor leader alone. Goliath, perhaps you'd better be off now and get on with your. . . date." 

Goliath said nothing and stepped out of the door, wishing to get as far from Hudson and the trio as possible. Elisa smiled at them and followed. He picked her up in his arms and leapt off the building. The air was warm so Elisa wasn't worried about getting too cold.

Hudson looked up at the departing couple with a shaking his head and a wry smile. "Well, it's about time those two got started on a new rookery." Brooklyn and Broadway, who were within earshot, snapped their heads around and stared, slack-jawed, at their mentor. Hudson placed his hands on his hips and glared back at them. "Well what're you two looking at?" he snapped. "Somebody had to say it!"

As Elisa and Goliath glided on the air currents she wrapped both arms around his neck and nestled closer to his chest. He noticed it and tried not to lose his concentration. The park was still a ways off, so it would take a few minutes to get there. He wanted to say something to her, to apologize for what the others said back at the tower. Nothing came to mind and his eyes wandered about, trying to find something of interest, but they kept sneaking back to Elisa.

When they reached the park he was glad to see that nobody was around. They set down next to the lake, near to the boathouse that had once been destroyed back when they'd first met, nearly two years ago. Back when she'd barely known him, yet risked her life to take out an entire squad of Xanatos' lethal attack troops.

She slipped from his grasp and looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Seeing nobody around, she grabbed his arm and led him down to the shoreline.

There was a stone bench there facing the water. They sat down next to each other and remained silent for a long time. "Goliath?" she said, breaking the silence. "How do you really feel about me?"

"You are a good friend, Elisa," he replied after a moment's contemplation, not really wanting to tell the truth.

She bowed her head, the inky cascades of her hair flowing down her neck, catching his eye. "That's not what I meant, Goliath. I mean how do you REALLY feel about me?"

"I..." He paused, still not wanting to reveal his true feelings. "I care for you a lot, Elisa... Since losing Demona a part of me has been missing."

            Elisa, hearing him talk about Demona suppressed a sigh and kept her thoughts to herself.  She felt dejected that he still clung to the hope that the insane redheaded Gargoyle would fill his empty void.

            "I understand."  Was all she dared herself to say, anything more and she would have either cried or become angry.

* * *

He had been working for about two hours now and the computer had done very little in that time. Tapping the computer keyboard he brought up an image of the genetic makeup of Xanatos's project, the holographic double-alpha helix of DNA projected into the air above the console.

The cells were completely wrong and he wondered how the project even got started. If the others Xanatos had previously hired to do this were either crazy or completely stupid. He shook his head and accessed more of the past records. Nothing he could get could jive with what he was supposed to be doing. The computer records were incomplete and all the data was grossly wrong. There were parts where it didn't even cover human cells, they were animal cells. And he was fairly certain that sample A-12 had been a fungus at one point, but by now it was impossible to tell.

Whoever was doing that study was quite ignorant. If he didn't know any better he'd swear he was chasing ghosts. It was almost as if the records had been slapped together by some geneticist in a hurry.

All the records were incomplete and data had been removed in several areas, leaving him with little to go on. He had only been working on Xanatos's project for three weeks and already his work thus far had blown the past data away. In his opinion, he was the first one who seemed to be doing ANY work on this project.

"I donn'a know what you were thinkin', Xanatos," he mumbled to himself. "But it wasn't th' regeneration of damaged cells." 

Shaking his head, he cleared the screen and closed all the open files leading to the old data, the holographic display flickering out overhead. He did not even want to look at it any more. It was sidetracking him.

Standing, he walked over to a metal cabinet and removed a syringe and test tube. Rolling up his sleeve he wrapped a rubber band around his upper arm and tied it. Slapping his biceps, he injected the needle and withdrew a quantity of blood. 

He removed the needle and with a cotton ball cleaned the spot of red welling out of his flesh. Taking a bandage from the cabinet, he placed it on the spot where he had put the needle. 

After removing the band he moved to a small computer in the corner. Next to it was a round device that would hold ten test tubes in a circle for analyzing and experimentation. 

Holding the test tube, he squirted his blood into it and placed it the rack. He closed the top with a plug and pressed the activation button and it hummed to life. The small computer was already on-line so he pressed the "ANALYZE" button and watched as it began to scan the test tube.

There was not much he could do but wait for the computer to break down the sample. Later he would introduce a fake infection to see how the computer would handle it. From that he could get a map of the cells trying to heal the problem.

It wasn't much of a start, but it would have to do. He thought about working on Demona's project but remembered what she had said.

"Yes," he said to himself. "Let's see what I can do about mutating my cells. If Demona doesn't a want me to work on her project then I'll work on one of me own."

Smiling, he sat before the computer and started a new file, password encoded, or course. Grabbing a blank tape from a stack next to the computer he inserted it into the drive. Moving easily over the computer keyboard he set the system up to save to the tape and typed a filename:

"Demona's Love Reborn"

He entered his own reasons for beginning the experiment to keep an accurate record of the work. Within the file he explained to himself what he wanted to do and how he was going to do it. 

One way or another, this would probably end up to be a rather painful process.

It would not be hard to analyze Demona's genetic makeup and try to duplicate it. He knew it would take months, but he felt confident he could do it. It would just take a little careful planning, mapping out how he would splice their combined DNA. He had to be cautious, lest he found himself developing mammary glands and producing the gargoyle equivalent of estrogen. Setting up the system to perform the necessary scans and duplication processes, he heard the intercom next to the door beep.

"Damn it," he grumbled, not wanting to be disturbed. Standing, he went over to the intercom and pressed the reply button. "Main genetics lab, Professor MacGregor here."

"Professor MacGregor," came a young woman's voice. "This is the medical department, M.R.I. room. Did you use the scanner recently?"

"Yes," he replied, not knowing why. The computer kept logs of who had used it. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing sir," she replied curtly. "But there's something saved onto the system drive. It was encoded by you, apparently you tried to save it to tape but it failed. Could you come down and get it please?"

A deathly feeling suddenly came over him, a deep cold spot formed in his stomach, his intestines squirming like some demented serpent.

"Yes," he replied, trying to keep calm. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Very well, professor," she replied, clicking off. Grabbing a handful of blank tapes, he hurried out of the lab and down to M.R.I. There were five people there, three men and two women. They looked at him as he entered with blas‚ gazes.

"Professor MacGregor?" spoke one of the women. From her voice to was the one who contacted him.

He nodded his head and waited for something else to happen. The thud of his pulse was loud in his throat.

"The data is still there, professor," replied one of the older men calmly. "Since it was encoded we could not do anything with it."

He sat down before the computer and inserted a tape quickly. He accessed the scan data and instructed the computer not to decode it, only write it to tape. It started without question and the timer said it would take two minutes to finish.

"What were you scanning, Professor?" the young woman asked with genuine curiosity.

He was not ready for the question and thought fast. "A friend of mine was interested in how th' machine worked. I gave her a demonstration. Why?"

"Just curious," she replied. "But there is something I need to tell you."

"What?" he asked, fearing what they might have seen.

"When you did the scan you didn't clear the last command before you started," she explained. "We were working on the human reproductive system and had the scanner set up to do it. 

"When you scanned your friend it did a reproductive organ system scan. I'll have to bet that's what was stored in the computer drive. In a way it was our own fault."

"No harm done," he replied, quite relieved.

When the computer beeped its completion he removed the tape and deleted the scan from the system.

"Thank you, Professor," replied one of the men. "Sorry to have bothered you with this."

He said it was fine and left the trainees to their work. When he entered his lab again he shut the door and wiped it forehead.

"Thank God it was encoded," he mumbled to himself, he would have had a hard time trying to explain that to them.

Looking down at the tape he tilted his head. "Reproductive system scan? Hmmm, I wonder..."

* * *

Jacob walked silently up the stairs towards the professor's bedroom. In his hands was a silver covered tray, a white cloth napkin was draped over his forearm. He set the tray down on a small table next to the professors door and knocked. 

The professor rolled beneath the blankets when he heard the knocking. He looked up the digital clock and smiled. As always, Jacob was on time with breakfast. His attention was drawn from Jacob to the form lying next to him.

Venus yawned as she became aware of what time it was. She had been sleeping with him for nearly four months. In that time she had grown accustomed to being waited on. Seeing Jacob at 7:00am every morning was the normal routine.

Scott leaned over and kissed her like he did every morning, careful not to cut himself on her ivory-white fangs. For some reason he saw something forlorn in her eyes; she didn't look like her normal self.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, rubbing her shoulder beneath the silk-soft wing.

Venus sighed, reached up and kissed his hand. "It's been over three months and nothing's happened."

The professor frowned and drew her into a soft hug. "Well, we are two different races, my love. It's possible that it can never happen."

"But I want to have a child," she whispered sadly. "I want to have *your* child."

Scott kissed her cheek and ran his fingers through her dark hair. "There's not much we can do but keep trying." He grinned playfully. "I enjoy it."

"I saw on television the other day that it is possible," she replied. "These couples were unable to have children, but this doctor helped them."

"Yes, artificial insemination, it's quite common today." But when he discovered what Venus was suggesting he shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Venus hung her head and sighed. "I know, but there has to be some way."

Scott got up from bed and went to open the door. As always there was tray resting on a table next to the door. He wheeled the table inside and pushed it so it was next to the bed. 

"I have a lot of money, my love, but it can't buy everything," he explained. "We just have to hope for the best."

"What about..." Venus started. "What about that Xanatos person?"

The professor almost dropped the plate he was holding and shot her an angry look. "Are you out of your mind? After everything he's done? How could you even think it?"

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes glistening with possible tears. "Please, Scott, I'd do anything to have a child... Please?" He had once told Venus he'd do anything to make her happy. It was true, he'd do anything for her, but this was too much.

"I don't know about this, Venus," he mumbled. "I doubt Xanatos would even listen to me. What am I saying? I can't even believe I'm considering doing this!"

Venus slid from under the covers and put her arm around him. Scott felt her warm body though her blue silken nightgown and closed his eyes as her membranous wings enveloped him, warming him.

"Just how badly do YOU want a child?" she whispered into his ear.

Scott closed his eyes and lay back down on the bed. Like Venus he wanted to have children, to have a loving family. He often formed pictures in his mind with him holding a little gargoyle. Venus was standing next to him, looking down at the squirming infant.

He felt a tear begin to well up in his eye and decided to give her idea a try. Venus smiled as he sat up and grabbed the phone next to the clock. Sighing, he punched in a rapid series of numbers.

* * *

Xanatos was not used to getting phone calls at 7:30 in the morning. However, when Owen said that it was Professor Mercure on the line, Xanatos simply smiled and picked up the receiver.

"Well, hello, my dear Professor," he said calmly. "Kind of early for you to be calling. What's up?"

There was a momentary pause before Scott began to speak. "I know you're powerful, Xanatos. I also know that you have a rather unique research department."

"Yes, I pride myself on making magic through science. So?" David asked, somewhat puzzled at the professor's odd comments. "I must say I'm a little confused."

"I..." Scott paused. "I want to ask a favor of you."

David could almost feel his jaw hitting the floor. Mercure was asking him for a favor. This was way to good to be true. He felt something inside him click with the prospect of leverage. He didn't know why, or how, but he knew this was going to be good. "So what is this favor?"

The professor cleared his throat before speaking. "It's not just for me, it's for Venus. For the past three months we've been trying... Well, we both want..."

Xanatos knew better than to laugh, but after what he'd seen Demona and MacGregor doing he understood. Scott was having a hard time admitting it, but they were trying to have children.

"I think I understand, Scott," he said, again calmly. "And I take it nothing has happened?"

"That's why I was asking about your research department," he continued wearily. "Is there some way she can be examined?"

This was way too good to be true; it was Venus herself that needed help! If the professor had asked something like this a month ago Xanatos would have had doubts.

"I think I know just the person you need," David replied. "He works for Gen-U-Tech. The best thing is he knows quite a bit about female gargoyles and their anatomy."

"What?" Scott asked, sounding alarmed. "How is this possible and how do I contact him?"

"His name is James MacGregor and he is currently involved with a gargoyle named Demona. You'd like him, he's another brilliant professor," Xanatos answered. "I can probably arrange it sometime today, if you're interested...?" He trailed off, leaving his statement to be a question.

There was another pause before the professor answered. "Yes, do contact him and arrange a meeting. What are you going to ask in return for helping me?"

"I'm not sure yet," he replied, trying not to laugh. The size of his grin made it hard to continue talking in a normal tone of voice. "Perhaps I'll require your talents in the near future."

It was a lie, of course, but for the professor it was a good enough excuse. He wasn't sure what he would want from the professor but he'd think of something. With Professors MacGregor and Mercure, along with Doctors Phobos, Sevarius, and Straussmore on his staff, Xanatos Enterprises International would be unstoppable, cornering the genetics market.

"I'll call you back around noontime with an answer," David added before saying goodbye.

Owen looked at Xanatos and adjusted his glasses. "I take it he's no longer upset with your past encounters?"

Xanatos shook his head and smiled. "Love is a very odd thing, Owen. Even the strongest of men will someday succumb to its power."

* * *

She had not been awake for very long, but when she looked into the bedroom and found James gone she knew where she would find him. Going to the roof, she spread her wings and soared into the night like a vampire fresh from the crypt. For once she was very happy and full of life. Feeling brave, she arced higher and made huge loops in the air. She dipped  and climbed like she did when she was a child who had just learned to fly.

At one point she laughed and hugged herself in midair. She was alive and in love again, there was nothing in the world that could displease her. With MacGregor at her side, the world was theirs for the plucking!

Pulling herself together she caught an air current and started towards the Gen-U-Tech building outside of the city. A few minutes later she noticed some figures off in the distance. She knew it was the other gargoyles and started towards the roofs.

Staying low to the building, she got closer to see what they were doing. When she could finally see them clearly she landed on the ledge of a nearby building and watched curiously, her cold, calculating eyes absorbing all that they saw for future reference.

She noticed then that it wasn't Goliath and his clan, but another group she had never seen before. Their leader, a large blonde-haired male, was talking to Xanatos, who was in full battle armor, confident and powerful in his gargoyle exoskeleton. The other gargoyles flying about were alien to her as well. In addition to the leader there were two other males and two females.

As Xanatos spoke with the leader five Steel Clan war-robots hung in the air behind him. The silver robots were simply hovering there, waiting for orders. Demona wondered how long it would be before their compressed-fuel tanks simply sputtered out. 

The leader listened to Xanatos and nodded his head. Xanatos pointed to his Steel Clan machines and shouted something.  The robots went into action and began to attack the other gargoyles. Deadly streams of red erupted from the robots' forearm guns as they tried to shoot the gargoyles down. She would have thought Xanatos would have joined the battle, but he simply backed off and watched. The leader made the first move by pulling up quickly and diving onto one of the robots. He grabbed the razor-edged metallic wings and tore them off as if they were no more than poster board.

The robot, its wings gone, was unable to maintain its normal flying mode and hit the side of the building, exploding in fire. Apparently its fuel tank had still been under a fair amount of pressure, for it burst into a cacophony of flames and fiery debris. Another male was busy dodging the robot while one of the females came up from behind and thrust her fist into the robot's back, piercing the iron armor easily.

When she pulled out her claw-fist, several wires and computer circuits came with it. The robot lost all power and exploded on the roof of another building, spewing white-hot blades of shrapnel.

The third male seemed to be having a hard time with the robot that was chasing him. Twice the robot's laser came dangerously close to striking him from the air, the coherent photon blasts searing his hair and wings. He looked at the second female, who also had a robot on her tail, and shouted something unintelligible.

The female seemed to understand and nodded before making a bee-line straight towards him. As she had expected, the stupid robots followed and seconds before the two gargoyles would have collided, they pulled up. The robots struck each other in a loud, metallic fiery death.

The last robot tried to shoot one of the males but he faked the robot into going through a loop. As the robot reached to the apex of its ascent he pulled up and thrust with his talons. The high pitched sounds they made as they sliced through the robot's metal epidermis were agonizing.

It flew off a few more yards before exploding as violently as the others had.

Xanatos seemed pleased with the gargoyles' work and shouted his thanks to them. She found it very strange that he would allow them to so easily destroy his weapons. They had been at least as expensive as military-grade fighter jets. But the queerest thing was that he didn't get involved.

The leader flew up to him and said something. Xanatos nodded his head and flew off in a burst of fire and smoke. To her utter amazement, the gargoyles followed him in formation. The billionaire was leading them back to the Eyrie Building. 

Her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to follow at a discreet distance. As she had expected, they were heading right to Castle Wyvern. 

She made a wide, low circle around the castle and landed on one of the towers. Xanatos landed on the helicopter pad and waited for the gargoyles to land as his jet pack whined through its cooling cycle. One by one the gargoyles arched their wings and set down before him.

"Good work, my friends!" he said, removing his helmet. "You were even better than I had hoped."

"What?" she muttered softly to herself, scratching her head. 

"What is Xanatos doing with those gargoyles?"

Xanatos stepped up to the leader and shook his hand. "But just because you beat my robots doesn't mean you're perfect. Come inside and I'll give some more tests."

The leader nodded and instructed the others to follow. For an instant she thought she heard something odd in its voice. It sounded more artificial than real. When they were out of sight she leapt off the tower and continued her flight.

"Why would these gargoyles want to help him?" she asked herself, still puzzled by the display. "I don't know how long I was gone, but it seems I'm behind the times."

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she decided to concentrate on more important matters. She was hoping the professor had kept his word and was not working on her project. When she arrived they could leave early, and perhaps do something romantic besides making love... or perhaps not, she thought with a sharp grin.

As the building came into view, she saw that the lights in his lab were still on. She did not find that out of place, but it looked as if he was pacing back and forth. She landed on the roof and made her way down to the window, sinking her claws deep into the side of the Gen-U-Tech building as she climbed head-first straight down. The window was already open, so she leapt lithely inside.

As she approached him, she noticed that he was looking at her in a peculiar manner.

"What's wrong?" she found herself asking.

The way he looked at her made her believe that whatever the news was, it would not be pleasant.

"Come," he said grimly, pointing to the computer. "I want you to see something interesting."

She nodded and followed him to the computer. Entering his private code, he removed a tape from his pocket and inserted it into the appropriate drive. He typed on the keyboard and information began to fade onto the screen.

Demona did not need to be told what it was. She was no doctor but she knew what female reproductive organs were. At first she did not find this important; the scan would have picked up such things.

"So, what are you trying to show me?" she asked.

"Wait," he sighed, typing on the keyboard some more.

The image of her reproductive organs moved to one side of the screen while another took it's place. Atop the new image were the words: HUMAN FEMALE. From a quick glance the two looked very similar.

Now she was becoming aware of what he was trying to show her and she felt very strange. He entered another command and the two images slowly came together. At the bottom a blinking message appeared.

MATCH COMPLETED - FINAL RESULT:

92.1% IDENTICAL, CHANCE OF SUCCESSFUL PREGNANCY: 85.2%

All the blood from her body seemed to drain away leaving her hollow inside. Her mouth hung open and she started to back away from the screen. At the bottom, the computer added;

SUBJECT HAS BEEN FERTILIZED, EMBRYO DEVELOPING

She gaped, unable to grasp the obvious. "NO!" she screamed finally, shaking her head. "This is not possible, I'm not a human, I'm not a human, I'm NOT a HUMAN!"

She gritted her teeth and began growling angrily, transforming from a alluring feminine figure to a horrifying angel of death. A single name popped into her mind, a name that she did not like.

"Puck!" Demona shouted. "You manipulating little bastard, I'll tear out your heart for this!"

To be impregnated for the first time in over one thousand years... and by a *human*?! This could not be happening. She would not *allow* this to happen! Before MacGregor could say anything she lunged towards the computer. He knew what was going to happen and he had just enough time to yank the tape from the drive. Demona lifted the computer with little effort and hurled it at the window.

It shattered on impact and James felt his heart sink as the system went sailing into the darkness. There was a momentary pause before the deadly sound of an impact sounded from below. Hopefully it hadn't hit anyone.

"Demona!" he said, trying to get her attention. "Demona, listen to me!"

Without thinking he grabbed her by the shoulders. By this time she was no longer in control of herself. She tore away from him and backhanded him in the face. Something soft and yielding crunched under her open claw.

The professor's body went sailing backwards, landing hard on a table. Several glass containers were crushed under his weight before he collapsed to the floor. Several small red stains covered the front of his lab coat. There was a fair amount of blood leaking from his mouth as well.

It took her a minute or two before she felt her temper begin to subside. When she saw James on the floor, bleeding, she knew what had happened. She gasped and rushed to his side. 

"James?" she spoke, moving him so he was lying flat on the floor. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." She began to sweat in panic. "When I get angry my temper takes over. . . Please be okay."

Her human mate moaned softly as his eyes fluttered open. He looked up at her and saw that she was upset.

"Unnh... What happened?" he asked, wiping the blood from his mouth. "I feel like a got hit by a truck."

She helped him to his feet and took a moment to examine the cuts on his chest. There was nothing serious, the lab coat and his clothes suffered more damage that he did.

"Forgive me, James," Demona sighed, throwing her arms around him. "When I saw that computer match I lost it." It seemed that she had become all to adept at killing humans over the years, as she now tried to do it without even thinking. 

He hugged her back and stroked her red hair. "You might not believe me, but I understand completely."

"You do?" she gasped. "But look what I did to the computer, and I almost killed you.... Perhaps I should leave before I cause you any more harm."

James shook his head. "Leave me now and I'll be losing the only girl I ever loved."

She wanted to say something but found herself kissing him instead. There was a quick surge of predatory emotion and she bit his lip lightly, her razor sharp fangs drawing blood. His eyes widened, but he said nothing, and Demona did not even realize what she had done.

"Demona, listen, I need to run another test on you," he said softly, wiping a scarlet trickle from the side of his mouth.

"Right now, down in the medical section."

She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes and she threw her arms around him again. He returned the favor and gently began rocking her back and forth.

"But. . ." she began, trying not to cry.

James shook his head and gently touched her cheek. "Come, I'll explain along the way."

Perhaps it was the way he said it, but she could not bring herself to hate him. Her feelings of love for him only seemed to grow stronger. Though deep within she still despised humanity, she had subconsciously ceased to view him as a human. She now thought of him as something better, almost...gargoyle-like. If she indeed had a new life growing within her she felt that he would not reject her for it.

She slowly pushed away and he led her out of the lab towards the medical department on the first floor. It was a strange feeling, knowing you might be carrying a human child. Or would it be a gargoyle hatchling. . . Her fears grew as her questions grew.

Would it be something else?

Part 3: "The Price of Love"

This Part occurs about five months after Part 2, not to long before the "Avalon" series.

* * *

High above the island of Manhattan, Goliath and Elisa were on their way from the movie theater. It had taken some doing on Elisa's part to get the gargoyle leader to even consider going to the movies. He had said he wasn't accustomed to doing such things and would have rather spent some time in the library. But with the help of the other gargoyles and no small amount of feminine charm, she finally got him to agree.

With Elisa safely in his arms, Goliath dipped his wings and started for the bay. When she asked where he was going he smiled and said simply that it was a surprise. All the time they'd known each other she had presented them with several gifts, all fairly expensive and not what one would expect a woman on a detective's salary to be able to afford, but they had never tried to repay her for her generosity, nor had they really gotten the opportunity. True, they had saved her life on more than one occasion, but in most cases she wouldn't have even been in danger if it weren't for them. Besides, she had also saved them multiple times, and had risked her own life (not to mention the wrath of monsters like Demona) in order to do so.

Tonight that would change, for Goliath would finally repay her. But since they had no money, he had done the only thing he could think of; ask Professor Scott Mercure for help.

It had only been four days since he had last went to see Scott. He was still unsure at the time but he felt that he had to try. He had landed in the front yard and surveyed the area. That's when he noticed a black limo parked in the driveway that looked vaguely familiar.

Goliath approached the front door and knocked. A few seconds passed before it was answered. Jacob, Scott's faithful butler, smiled cordially. Obviously he was getting used to having bat-winged monsters around.

"Good evening, Goliath," he said warmly. "We haven't had the pleasure of your visit for some time. Please, come in." 

Jacob closed the door behind him and lead the way towards the familiar sun-room. Goliath heard voices coming from within, two of which he knew to be those of Scott and Venus. The other voice was a man of whom he held no love for; David Xanatos. Suppressing a growl, he let Jacob lead him into the sun- room. His assumptions, to his disapproval, were indeed correct.

Xanatos was sitting at the dining table with Scott and Venus. Owen, as always, was standing behind his employer. 

"Xanatos!" Goliath growled.

"Good evening, Goliath," David said with his cool, trademarked politeness. "I was hoping I'd see you sometime soon."

Goliath was about to say something when Venus rose from her seat and approached him.

"Relax, Goliath, he's here at Scott's invitation."

The professor looked at Goliath and smiled. "We were just about finished anyway, Goliath. Please, sit down and join us."

"Very well, I shall stay," Goliath answered. "But I'll remain standing if you don't mind." His voice held an undertone of threatened violence.

Scott nodded his head and shook Xanatos' hand, much to Goliath's distaste. Xanatos bid them all goodbye and said that he and Owen would show themselves out. The billionaire's blonde haired assistant gave the gargoyle a peculiar look on his way out.

When they were gone, Goliath turned to the professor and demanded to know why he had been associating with the likes of Xanatos.

"I invited him here to help me with a little problem," Scott answered. "Don't worry, Golith, I'm not stupid. I know what that monster's capable of. But with this problem I need his help."

"I know of no problem that Xanatos is capable of solving," he snarled. "You should not trust him."

Scott scoffed lightly. "*Trust* him? Please, give me some credit. But even so, sometimes one must dance with the devil..." 

Goliath's glowing eyes narrowed. "Those who dance with the devil get burned quite severely."

Venus sighed and shook her head. "Goliath, stop it! It's obvious that you came here for a reason besides telling us what we should and shouldn't do while dealing with the richest man on earth. Why?"

Goliath had to think of why he came; his brief encounter with Xanatos was unexpected, and had basically derailed his train of thought.

"I came to ask of favor of you."

Scott smiled, glad to shed the previous subject. "Of course, my friend. What kind of favor do you need? Food? Money? A place to stay? Simply name it."

"I need your help to get something for Elisa," he replied cautiously, as if he were afraid the policewoman would hear him. "She's done so much for my clan that we want to reward her with something."

Venus smiled and nudged his side with her elbow. "So, brother, you want to impress "Elisa, huh? Take a look at what Scott got for me the other day." She brushed her hair from her bare shoulders to reveal an elaborate gold necklace. In the setting was a beautiful lavender stone that caught the lighting, shimmering elegantly against her skin.

"It's very stunning, Venus," Goliath said, hid eyes wide and his voice somewhat breathless. "Perhaps I should do the same for Elisa...?"

The professor nodded his head. "Jewelry is normally the choice gift for women, regardless of species. But as I would guess you are not financially suited to do so."

"We don't have any money," Goliath sighed. "That's why I need your help."

Scott nodded. "No, I don't suppose there are many jobs that Tenth Century gargoyles are suited for, hmm? No matter; money is of no object, for I have more than enough. Did you have anything in mind?"

"The necklace your got for Venus was very nice," he commented again. "I would like something like that. Would you do this for me, my friend?"

"I said once that if you ever needed anything, all you have to do is ask." Scott said. "I shall have something for you in a day or so."

Goliath smiled and shook his head. "It's nice to know I have such good friends. But alas, I have to leave now to go on patrol."

He shook Scott's hand again and gave Venus a quick hug before leaving the room. Venus watched him leave and walked back over to her human love, wrapping her wings about him in a common gargoyle display of affection.

"We should have told him the reason we needed Xanatos' help," she sighed. "I don't like leaving him in the dark."

"And what do think his reaction would be if we told him the truth?" Scott asked.

Venus hugged him and said that she did not want to know. She loved her brother, but neither of them knew what his reaction would be. More than one gargoyle maiden back at Castle Wyvern had fallen in love with a human man, and they had fled the clan in order to avoid the wrath of the more conservative among them. Venus wanted to have a child, and she wanted the father to the very human they trusted.

But just how far would that trust go if Goliath knew what their intentions were? He hugged her tightly and hinted that perhaps they should try again. She looked into his brown eyes and nodded her head approvingly.

Perhaps it was a lost cause, but at least it was quite enjoyable...

After leaving the professor's house, Goliath noticed that Xanatos was still here. The billionaire was standing next to his limo.

"Can I have a word with you, Goliath?"

Goliath growled under his breath and was hesitant at first. He was sure Xanatos knew the favor Scott had asked. He wanted to know what it was. After glancing around for any hidden commandos, cyborgs, or Steel Clan, he walked warily up to Xanatos, every muscle in his body coiled should a fight come.

"What do you want?" he snapped in an angry tone.

"I wish to extend an invitation to you and the others." There was a short, astonished pause. Then: "Are you joking?" he asked, remembering the time he attended Xanatos' wedding.

Goliath shook his head and started to leave when Xanatos grabbed his arm. He spun around defensively and backed away.

Xanatos held up his hands and shook his head. "I'm throwing a little surprise party for a couple I know. I want you and the others to attend... Oh, and bring that lovely Detective Maza of yours as well. I've grown quite fond of her. Hope she's not still too upset about that whole Talon incident." Xanatos grinned knowingly.

"When?" he asked, eyes slitted.

"Next Saturday, at my upstate resort of Xanadune. I believe you know where it is?"

Goliath sighed and nodded his head. Memories of Jackal and Hyena flashed through his mind. "Yes. But why invite us to your surprise party? Do I know the couple you speak of?"

Xanatos smiled and snickered uncharacteristically. "I would say you know at least one of them. It's for Demona and her new mate."

"WHAT!" Goliath roared at the top of his lungs. He threw his wings out wide. "What do you mean Demona's new *mate*? How long has she been back and who is this mate of hers?" It couldn't be Coldstone... Thailog, maybe? Perhaps the clone had not been killed on that oil platform.

"Now, now," David replied. "I would not want to upset her by not letting her tell you herself. I'd say she's been around this guy for a few months, and she's undergone some major changes." 

"Changes?" Goliath replied, upset and very puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

David sighed and returned to his seat. "Let's just say her new love had changed the way she thinks about the human race. He has taught her many things, including how to forget the past and look toward the future."

"Yes," Owen added, adding to Xanatos's reason. "She's become quite infatuated with the individual. I don't think you'll even recognize her."

Goliath sighed heavily and seemed to simmer down a bit. "If she has found happiness then I suppose I should be glad. But I fail to see why she'd abandon nine hundred years of hatred for love." The idea of Demona, always with her mace, laser cannon, and that bazooka she was so fond of, suddenly becoming someone's sweetheart... It was hard to imagine... almost comical. 

Xanatos grinned. "Love can do strange things, Goliath." No matter what he did, Goliath could not get the thought of Demona in love out of his mind. Deep within he felt sad that he'd really lost his Angel of the Night. But if she, for any reason, had changed her ways, then he wished her good fortune. But did falling in love atone for the deaths of the dozens of gargoyles and thousands of humans she had slaughtered over the centuries, either through malice or her short-sighted hatred? Without saying another word, Owen opened the car door and Xanatos got in. Owen got into the drivers seat and drove off, leaving Goliath alone in the professor's front yard to silently ponder what to do next.

He was quite unaware that his mind was wandering until Elisa shouted at him. Looking forward, he noticed the statue approaching at a frightening speed. Pulling up, he threw his wings out and slowed himself down.

It took a moment to get his bearings straight, but when he saw the railing around the torch he landed. She slipped from his  embrace and leaned on the green-tinted metal railing, perched precariously hundreds of feet above the ground. She was either extremely brave, or she trusted him explicitly. Either way, it made Goliath smile yearningly at her.

The moon's light was shining on the rippling waters of the bay. There were some boats moving around in the dark waters, only their tiny lights indicating they were there. Goliath smiled and stood next to her, admiring both the view of the city and of her.

"So," she said softly, smiling with that Maza charm of hers. "Can I ask you why you brought me way out here? Or do we have to play twenty questions?"

Goliath shook his head, still smiling. "I will tell you."

Elisa turned around and put her back against the railing. "Okay."

Goliath took a deep breath before he began. "You've been our friend for a long time, Elisa. In that time you've given us many things to help us adjust to this new life, this new world. In return for everything you've done for us I want you to have this token of our friendship."

Reaching into his belt, he took out a small brown box and held out in front of him. She looked at it, and her mouth parted slightly as she could not find any words to say.

"Open it, Elisa," he urged softly. "Within is a symbol of our friendship, for you to keep always." He bit back the word 'love.'

With shaking hands she reached out and took the tiny box from his open palm. For a moment she was afraid to open it, to see something that might cause her to break down. She liked Goliath a lot but she hoped he wasn't going to do what she thought he was going to do.

To Elisa it was like trying to break open a sealed safe with chains around it. As the lip opened, she looked inside to see a beautiful golden pendant on a thin gold chain. She felt a tear well up in her eyes as she removed it from the box. Her brown eyes glistened wetly in the moonlight, tugging at Goliath's emotions.

She was no expert, but she knew what gold looked like. Both the pendant and the chain were at least fourteen karat. Probably higher. The pendant itself had a small NYPD badge engraved on the front with an inscription on the back:

To Elisa, who has taken us into her heart and given us so much. In return we present you with this gift to keep and cherish. Thank you.

Goliath and

The Gargoyles

The lettering was so fine she knew it must have cost a fortune to engrave it. She could no longer hold back her happiness and began to cry with pleasure, blinking rapidly to dry her eyes, somewhat embarrassed at her own emotionalism. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she opened the pendant only to find a tiny color picture of the gargoyles inside, with Lexington waving happily and Brooklyn striking a leader-like pose, similar to Goliath..

On the inside lid there was another tiny inscription, with a small diamond in the center.

...As long as you wear this we shall always be with you...

She could not get over the detailing on the artwork and the small diamond within. Something like this would cost a hundred dollars. *More!* As much as she wanted to ask him where he'd gotten it she could not bring herself to do so. It was too precious a gift, she found herself putting her arms around Goliath and crying again, pressing herself close to him in a way that made him pause, caught off guard. 

He smiled touched her cheek, drawing her attention to his face. "We are comrades, now . . .  and forever."

She desperately wanted to say something to him, to thank him for his wonderful present. Each time she would try to say something he would put his finger over her lips and shake his head. There was nothing more to say.

The two friends stood overlooking the dark city, holding one another quietly in the perfect night's breeze.

* * *

Two weeks prior to his meeting with Scott, Xanatos had decided to pay a visit to professor MacGregor. With the help of the hidden camera in MacGregor's lab, he was able to keep tabs on the professor's progress. In his opinion, the scientist was moving right along. He was very impressed when he leaned that Demona was pregnant with MacGregor's child. The man knew how to live dangerously: An admirable trait in an employee.

As Owen pulled into the guard station the man on duty simply saw who was driving and let them pass with a formal nod and salute. Xanatos waited until after sundown to visit the professor in hopes of speaking with Demona, too. There was nobody around at this time so their entrance, gained by his personal keycard, was not halted by locked doors. Armed with the information he knew about the professor and Demona he could have some leeway in dealing with them. He had no intention of stopping their experiments, but he himself did not wish to remain completely in the dark. Riding the elevator to the second floor, they walked down the well-lit hallway to the "Main Genetics Lab" door toward the end.

Xanatos quietly fingered the small weight in his sleeve where the tiny tranquilizer pistol was sheathed in a spring action holster. It was a small, undetectable plastic weapon, one of Xanacorp's most common designs; The same kind of gun that had taken down Goliath when he had first awakened, the same kind that he and Owen had used on Fox that night when the Eye of Odin transformed her, and the same kind that Sevarius used on his more... 'lively' experiments. With any luck he wouldn't have to use it, but Demona was, after all, Demona... and God only knew what maternal protection instincts would do to her already 'cordial' demeanor. The multibillionaire felt better knowing he could bring down a rhino at thirty yards. It should bring down a gargoyle at twenty.

Within the lab Professor MacGregor was busy overseeing the analysis the computer had just performed. According to the readout the mixture of Demona's cells, fused with high proteins, his experiment was having a visible effect. The damaged skin cells were accepting the new mixture and healing at a rate one quarter faster than normal.

Demona was sitting before a different computer performing something similar, but it was her own project. In the six months they had been together, he had taught her several things to help him with his work. Using the computer was easy; all she had to do was watch the simulations. If they matched the professor's calculations she saved the information. If they didn't, then it simply went on to another test.

She was bored out of her mind. At one point she had actually considered the insane notion of downloading the military computer virus that Coldstone had stolen, if for no other reason than to get a little excitement into her daily routine. It was very strange being pregnant; there was very little she could do. She had been with child once before, Goliath's child, long ago in the Tenth Century... The egg that she had lost due to the dirty humans' interference! But this was a different pregnancy, not the normal gargoyle gestation period. Precautions had to be taken. 

James was against her trying to fly and they had not made love for two months. She had no idea when the child was due to come, but from the tests' indications it would not be much longer.

"Any luck, Demona?" James said, stretching. A few of his vertebrae cracked satisfyingly.

"Nothing of note." She replied, shaking her head in disgust. She paused, then: "James, how you feel about being a father?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I donna know, Demona, but I'll try and be th' best father I can. How are ye feeling?"

"Just like before, overweight and uncomfortable," she replied sardonically. "What are we going to name her?"

It was only a few weeks ago when he did an ultrasound did they discover the sex, and the form. It was a female gargoyle, complete with wings and tail. This had relieved Demona greatly: The thought of having a worthless *human* child defiling her womb... ugh, it was unbearable! Now the only thing that they didn't know was what color their daughter's skin would be. Female gargoyles would normally lay an egg, but since the father was human, it was different.

"I'm no good with names," he replied, kissing her cheek. "Why don't you pick somethin'?"

Placing her hand on her swollen abdomen, she tried to think of something nice. In the past she had known many female gargoyles, but none of their kind had names. A razor-toothed grin flashed across her face when she remembered the name Grouch--MacBeth's  mate. But the irony was too bitter. She then tried to think of a human name from her past; if it was a boy she would have called him Robert.

She was almost sorry it was a female. Then a new thought came to her. Thinking back to the old journal, she searched her memory for Robert MacGregor's old love.

"Mistra," she breathed softly. "That was the name of Robert's former love. We'll call her Mistra!"

James tilted his head and thought it over. "That name suits her very well, my dear Demona. With any luck we'll get to see her very shortly."

"I'm scared, James," she replied softly, lowering her head. "I've faced Vikings, Huns, Cossacks, even the infamous Spanish Armada and the Third Reich... but I've never felt so scared."

This was a debilitating, humiliating fear, one that she couldn't lash out against. She was used to wading into battle, cutting down her foes in an orgy of flesh and blood and screams, confident that she alone, the immortal, would survive. But this challenge evaded her typical response of blind violence.

He smiled and cradled her head next to his chest. "All women get scared their first time, Demona. It's only natural."

She didn't tell him it wasn't her first time. She got to her feet and hugged him. In his arms she felt safe and secure; her love for him would never die. Looking into his green eyes she smiled and kissed him passionately, her claws digging into the fabric of his shirt predatorily, like a jaguar claiming its prey. To her surprise he began caressing her like he used to, before they knew that she was pregnant.

His warm hands slowly slid up her spine toward the strap of her leather top. The shivers that went up and down her back made her tremble with excitement. She reached up to slide her shoulder strap off when the buzzer next to the door sounded. 

He grumbled a swear word and slowly broke away from her, reluctant and annoyed. She sighed, envisioning herself tearing whatever Girl Scout had just come to the door limb from limb, and did what she always did when somebody was outside; she hid in the storage closet.

Quickly moving to the computer Demona was working on, he ejected the disk and hit reset. The screen flashed for a moment and then displayed the Gen-U-Tech logo. Placing the disk in his pocket, he went over and opened the door.

Standing outside were David Xanatos and Owen Burnett, the last two people he wanted to see tonight.

"Professor MacGregor," David said, shaking his hand without invitation. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in..?"

"Uhm... not at all, Mister Xanatos," he lied. "Please come in."

Xanatos nodded and stepped inside, as did his ever following aid, Owen Burnett.

"I've been reading your reports, professor." Xanatos casually said as he looked around. "From your last report you were beginning to make some progress."

James nodded, swallowing to clear his thoughts. "Yes. As of today I discovered that my formula is indeed working as it should. It isn'a much, but it's doin' what it's supposed to be doin'." He blinked nervously as Xanatos ambled close to the Demona's closet.

"Excellent! Then my money is not being wasted. And how are you these days, professor?"

The billionaires' question took him by surprise and he found himself unable to answer. Xanatos smiled and looked around the room again, as if searching for something in particular. 

"From what I'm told you've been seeing somebody for the past five months," he said slyly.

"What are you talkin' aboot, Mister Xanatos?" James said, his throat constricting. "I prefer to be alone with me work."

"Come now, professor," the rich man grinned, placing his hand on MacGregor's shoulder. Then to the air, he called out: "I know all about it . . .  I know you're here, Demona! Why don't you come out and say hello? I've never seen a *pregnant* gargoyle before."

The professor stepped back angrily and slapped Xanatos' hand away. "Mister Xanatos, I demand to know how ye know so much about me!"

"Yes!" Demona growled, opening the closet door and stepping out. Her claws flexed viciously, having not tasted human blood for quite some time. "How do you know so much about us?"

The redness of her eyes proved that she was quite upset with Xanatos and his prying. Xanatos stepped back and held out his hands, shaking his head. He tensed his arm to trigger the tranquilizer-pistol's spring holster, should it be necessary.

Demona was not one to think an attack through.

"I have my ways, Demona, as you should know," he replied coolly. "But why are you so upset over it?" After all, he thought to himself, you *did* plant that bug in my office that I pretend not to know about....

"Upset!" James yelled. "When ye gave me this job, I expected to work in privacy! I trusted you and yer word, and yer askin' me why I'm upset?"

"Please, please," David countered, trying to calm them down. Pregnant or no, if Demona got sufficiently angry he would have to call in the Steel Clan to put her down. "I am only here to invite the two of you to a party."

His answer took them both by surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Demona asked, letting some of her anger subside, replaced by cynicism and curiosity; a dangerous pair.

"Why, a party for the two of you, and your baby," David said, smiling. "It's my gift for all the work you've done so far, on my project and Demona's as well."

James shook his head. "Then yer not going t' stop the work I've done so far?"

"Stop it?" he answered, looking surprised. "I've been hoping you'd be able to make it work."

Deep within the professor felt slightly relieved. It was apparent that Xanatos did not know everything. In essence Demona's project was done; he had been running tests to make absolutely sure it was safe.

"Why is that?" Demona asked, putting a protective hand on her belly. She bent slightly at the waist, unconsciously preparing to defend her child and her mate from the inferior human interlopers.

"Just think of it, Demona. If you remained flesh during the day you could spend more time with your . . . " He seemed to hesitate before continuing. "...family."

"Family . . . " she breathed softly, relishing the word. "I never thought of it that way. James and I . . ." She shook her head abruptly, clearing her thoughts and remembering her vindictiveness. "Why have a party for us? Since when have you gotten so generous, Xanatos?" she snapped suspiciously.

Xanatos shook his head and looked patronizingly hurt. "You've been out of touch, it seems. You see, the gargoyles and I have decided to accept each other. I no longer have the desire to hunt them down and they leave me alone." Well, he mused, it was half-true, after all.

"Ye haven't answered her question, Xanatos." MacGregor said as he stood besides Demona. "Why a party?"

"Like I said, professor, it's simply my gift to you and Demona for working so hard," he replied calmly.

"In my opinion," Owen said, stepping forward. "I think it would be a great time to make amends. Wouldn't you say so, Mister Xanatos?"

"Indeed," he replied, turning to the couple. "What do you say?"

Demona sighed and looked at MacGregor. He noticed the tiny hint of approval in her gaze; Not the reaction he had expected from her.

"Very well, Mister Xanatos," James answered, eyes narrowed. Xanatos obviously had an ulterior motive, but... "When and where are ye going t' have this, party?"

"Two weeks from today, Saturday evening at my upstate resort of Xanadune," he said, stepping forward and placing a hand on each of their shoulders. Demona sneered and flicked off his offending appendage with a snap of her wing. "I'll send Owen to get you there. Agreed?"

They nodded their approval and smiled falsely, not hiding their suspicions.

"Great, and I congratulate the two of you," he commented. "I think you'll make wonderful parents." Yes, one computer-hacking felon and one millennium-old shape-shifting butcher. Quite the parents indeed...

Demona seemed pleased with Xanatos's reply and found herself smiling with satisfaction. If the rich man had some trickery planned, she would see that he paid, and paid dearly. Bidding their farewells, both Xanatos and Owen shook their hands and left without further incident.

* * *

From a secret underground hideout, another scientist was hard at work. Unlike the 'normal' scientist, this one was not working on his chosen field; this one wanted revenge... Though one might argue that revenge *was* his chosen field... 

His lab had similar equipment, much like professor MacGregor's did. Sitting behind the central computer, the notorious Doctor Anton Sevarius stared at a blank computer screen. His face was worn with lines of frustration at the quick progress of James MacGregor.

He did not like the Scottish scientist at all, and was very upset when Xanatos had hired the man. Aside from himself, MacGregor was one of the best biochemists and geneticist on the planet.

"Upstage me, will he?" Sevarius growled at his reflection in the screen. "Why did you hire him, Xanatos? I could have done the same thing here!" How typical. You breed a half dozen mutates and your employer forgets about you. So what if some of the 'volunteers' had died? The Thailog project had more than made up for that!

Of course his questions would go unanswered, because Xanatos was not there to reply. Nor did the billionaire know of the geneticist's hatred for James MacGregor, and of the revenge he so direly wanted.

"I won't have MacGregor doing work that was meant for me to discover," he hissed, lifting the phone from its cradle.

He dialed a private number and someone on the other end picked it up before it finished the first ring. It was remarkable how fast they had connected, considering the dozens of satellites that the signal had been bounced off of for security reasons. There was a pause before the emotionless voice on the other end spoke. "Yes?"

"His name's, MacGregor . . .  James MacGregor," Sevarius said sharply. "He works at the new Gen-U-Tech building outside town. I want him, and all the work he's doing for Xanatos' new project. You will be *amply* rewarded. Understood...?"

"Fine," came the cold voice. "The job will cost you two million, cash. I'll expect to see it tomorrow night. Don't try and double-cross us, Doctor."

"Agreed," Sevarius said back. "I'll have more information to give you by then."

With that he hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. Those mercenaries: Such fools! If only they new of the mutagen he'd infected them with earlier. All it would take was a little cellular stimulation on the correct EM frequency and they wouldn't be so smug toward him... But the mercenaries had proven their usefulness. For now he would let them live... as humans. He grimaced and thought back to the matter at hand.

"You won't get away with this, MacGregor. Oh, no, not this time!" he grinned maliciously. "You stole from me once, and for that you will pay." The last person to betray Sevarius was now residing in sub-level forty-six of the Eyrie Building, classified somewhere between the phyla of chordates and echinoderms. Turned out that he had a remarkable threshold of pain.

He thought back to a time when he and MacGregor were once partners, and almost friends, back when Sevarius had not been Sevarius at all, but working under a different name altogether. It would have been perfect; Two brilliant minds working together. They had their own laboratory and equipment. The money that MacGregor had stolen from using the computerized bank links was more than they would have ever needed.

Their work was illegal, but they did not think of themselves as being 'bad' men. They were *scientists*, and progress always came at a high cost. It was for the good of the scientific world and all the possibilities it could offer.

They were on the verge of cloning their very first DNA sample of a human-jackal crossbreed back in the early eighties for Cyberbiotics. The information they had gathered in the two years that they worked together was beyond fascination.

Everything was going as planned until that unpleasant day.  He had arrived at their secret laboratory to find all the data in the computers gone. Also gone were the DNA samples they had worked on and whatever money they had left. The only thing that was left was a note taped to the main computer's screen.

Doctor doctor, this is just to let you know that I've enjoyed working with you. What we've done here is wonderful, but since I did most of the work I've decided that I should get the credit. You'll find fifty thousand dollars left in your bank account. Don't try and look for me, I've left the country and have set up a new lab.

Your former partner,

Prof. James MacGregor . . .

Damn the MacGregor! The weak-hearted fool! The betrayer! For a long time after that Anton had regretted ever working with MacGregor and vowed to get his revenge. He had gotten it in part when he sent that immuno-deficiency virus to MacGregor's mother and two sisters, which withered them away to nothing in an accelerated version of the AIDS disease. A horrible, painful death, very satisfying to watch on tape from the concealed cameras in their respective hospital rooms. There was an added bonus when two nurses contracted the virus and infected their families. Such valuable research! But somehow that had not been enough. He still needed MacGregor himself! That was when Xanatos had found him and offered him the job. He was to try and clone DNA from some creature that Xanatos knew about. But after he took the job, the billionaire told him that he was unable to get the DNA.

He told Xanatos it would be almost impossible to duplicate what he didn't have. Xanatos told him to do whatever he could to create a creature similar to the one he spoke about. That was when he decided to work not on cloning, but mutating. By using the DNA of certain animals he could create a powerful creature. Xanatos was more than willing to provide test subjects, the most successful of which had been Derek Maza. Sevarius had not even expected the man to survive the process...

But even after his success in creating the part bat, part feline, part primate and half electric eel creatures, his thoughts were always focused on revenge.

Now that time would come, and there was nothing Xanatos could do to stop him. With MacGregor's work in his possession he would be the greatest geneticist in the world.

"Oh, sorry Doctor, I did not know you were in here." Sevarius spun around to glare at the form of Dr. Daniel Straussmore, who had just wandered into the lab. "What are *you* doing here?" Sevarius spat.

Straussmore didn't seem to notice the other doctor's hostile temperament. "Just finishing up some tests on this wolf-splicing project, Anton. I won't be long." The young man proceeded to tap away at a nearby computer terminal, completely ignoring Sevarius. Sevarius grinned evilly.  Well, he mused, there was always Straussmore. Brilliant, naïve, foolish Straussmore. Sevarius had to stifle a laugh every time he saw the geneticist; The man actually had no idea what kind of work he was doing, and it was for the better. Straussmore was one of those weak-minded fools who didn't understand that scientific research was more important than metaphysical concepts like 'law' and 'honor.' He didn't even realize that the project he was working on was based on the genetic alteration of one of the members of the homicidal Pack, specifically the lupine and savage Wolf.

True, Straussmore was not quite as adept at genetics as Sevarius himself, but the man had other talents: such as advanced robotics and cybernetics. Xanatos currently had him researching advancements that would be used in upcoming projects like Coyote's upcoming Egypt upgrade and the Athena Project. Sevarius sighed. At least Straussmore was more tractable than MacGregor. MacGregor, whom after all these years would finally experience the wrath of Sevarius! What should he do to him, hmm...? All the possibilities... Perhaps degrade his MHC proteins so his own immune system would devour him from the inside out. Or maybe flood his nervous system with acetylcholine to make his neurons fire uncontrollably. Or maybe induce severe goiter in his thyroid....

Ah, grow up, Anton, he admonished himself. You are like a child in a candy shop. The mercenaries will take care of MacGregor and bring him to you. *Then* you may deal with him as you please. For now you have more important work to do... 

Sevarius leaned over his terminal and, making sure Dr. Straussmore was not looking, brought up the preliminary plans for Project Gemini.

* * *

Venus felt very uncomfortable as she and Scott were driving to the Gen-U-Tech building. Xanatos said that a man named professor MacGregor would be waiting for them. According to Xanatos the geneticist was very familiar with gargoyle anatomy.

The biggest surprise was that MacGregor's gargoyle love was pregnant. Venus had actually smiled when she heard this and felt that this person was the right man to see. Who else was she going to encounter in this day and age that had experience with pregnant members of her species?

When Scott pulled up to the guard station the person on duty asked for identification. When Scott showed him his card the guard nodded his verification and said that he could proceed.

Scott had told Venus to glide into the parking lot so as not to be discovered. 

He saw a man dressed in a lab coat standing next to the main door. There was only one set of windows in the building that shone light. Standing in the window was a dark-colored form; Scott knew it was a gargoyle, MacGregor's gargoyle. Even folded up as a cape, Scott could recognize the enormous tell-tale bat-wings so common of the species.

He pulled up next to the opening and got out. Seconds later Venus touched down next to him, catching the geneticist off guard. MacGregor stepped up and shook his hand. 

"You must be Professor Mercure, the renowned archeologist?" he asked politely. "It's a pleasure to see ya, and to you as well, Venus. I think Demona will be interested in meeting you."

"Demona," Venus said softly. She knew who Demona was, thanks to Elisa, and she felt even more uneasy.

According to Elisa, Demona was a cold hearted beast who had tried to kill the young detective on many occasions. When Venus had heard that she would meet that gargoyle tonight she almost backed out. But she wanted so badly to bear a child that she was willing to take the risk.

The geneticist led them into the building. Scott was relieved to see that nobody was around. Everything was clean and well polished, right down to the elevator they entered. It stopped on the second floor and they were led down another hallway. MacGregor stopped before an armored door and entered a code into the keypad next to it. A buzzer sounded and the door clicked open with a mild hiss of hydraulics.

MacGregor stepped in first and motioned for them to follow. The lab was unlike anything Scott had ever seen, filled with the latest equipment. As he looked around his eyes fell upon a blue skinned gargoyle, female, standing next to the windows. Her hair was blazing red and she wore very little clothing.

A simple gray cloth held up by a belt. Her top was covered in a similarly risqué fashion, held up by one shoulder-strap. He had to admit that she was very attractive, and was obviously very pregnant as well.

Venus looked at Demona and smiled, not out of politeness, but for admiration. This was a female gargoyle, like herself, and the father of her child was human.

"Demona," MacGregor said, clearing his throat. I'd like you to meet Professor Scott Mercure, and this is Venus."

Demona looked at them for an instant and said nothing. Scott had the feeling she did not seem to like them very much. MacGregor looked at Demona for a moment and gave her a look.

As if on cue, Demona shook her head, as if suddenly awakened but did not smiled. "I'm sorry, I just never expected to see another female gargoyle again."

Venus felt relieved and shook her hand when Demona offered it, as did Scott. He couldn't help but shudder at the sharpness of her talons.

"They want to have children as well," MacGregor said. "They've asked for our help."

Demona grinned and tried not to laugh. "It's not as simple as one thinks, carrying a child."

"That's something I want to experience, Demona," Venus said softly. "More than anything in the world."

"Very well, if James is offering his help, then I'll do whatever I can to assist," Demona replied, smiling in such a way that Scott could not tell whether or not it was genuine.

He was used to seeing gargoyles; Indeed, he was one's *lover.* But unlike Venus, whose ethereal beauty was highlighted by the graceful arcs of her wings and softly glowing eyes, Demona's alien appearance frightened him. For the first time since he had seen a gargoyle he suddenly found them very threatening, and even gave Venus a wary glance. Demona seemed to exude viciousness, an infectious quality, and he was reminded of the gargoyles' flesh rending fangs.

"Shall we get started with the tests?" MacGregor asked nonchalantly. "We'll need to go down to the M.R.I. room first. If you would all be so kind as to follow me...?"

One by one they exited the lab and headed for the elevator, down to the scanner. With Scott's coaxing, Venus stretched out on the table and closed her eyes. The platform was placed into the scanner and the door closed, sealing in one extremely nervous gargoyle who suddenly wanted to be held by her mate. 

MacGregor set the computer controls and started the scanning process. As usual, it took about forty five minutes to complete the scan, including the reproductive area. When the process was finished Scott helped Venus from the scanner and waited, Venus wincing at the ringing in her sensitive ears. Scott comforted her gently.

James downloaded the information to tape and declared that they could return to the lab. Venus and Scott waited patiently for the computer to analyze and compare the scans. What appeared on the screen amazed not only Scott and Venus, but MacGregor as well.

SCAN COMPLETED -- FINAL RESULT: INCOMPATIBLE....

CHANCE OF SUCCESSFUL PREGNANCY - 0.0%

Venus balled her fists and stifled a scream of anguish at the computers results. She collapsed to the floor, not able to hold back her sobbing. Scott had an angered look on his face and demanded an explanation.

MacGregor pulled up an graphics image of Venus's reproductive scan and put it next to Demona's. The difference was so visible that anybody could tell they were not alike. 

"I can't understand it!" MacGregor gasped. "Two female gargoyles with completely opposite reproductive systems! I know that there is remarkable differentiation in the species, but this... They can't all be so different, they'd never be able to procreate!"

Demona looked at the scans and scowled. She felt a twinge of sympathy for Venus. She looked down at the sobbing gargoyle and knelt down next to her. Venus looked at the blue-skinned woman and seemed unable to speak.

"I'm sorry, Venus. . ." Demona sighed. "Really I am."

Venus shut her eyes and started crying again, softly.

Scott shook his head determinedly. "There has to be some way of doing it. You're a geneticist, there must be procedures!"

MacGregor shook his head almost imperceptibly. "I can't alter the reproductive systems genetically, it's impossible. It might kill her."

"Then why is Demona different?" Mercure asked.

Demona got to her feet and started out the window. "I have a  good idea how and why... not to mention who. If I ever see him again he's going to pay very dearly for his meddling." Her throat emitted a deep, panther-like growl, completely inhuman.

Scott looked at her and had no idea of what she was talking about. When he asked she shook her head and said that giving an explanation would do no good. Venus got to her feet and hugged Scott tightly, pressing her face to his chest and digging her claws into him almost painfully, to desperate to let go.

As Demona looked out the window she felt a single, lonely tear fall slowly down her otherwise emotionless face. She was experiencing something else she had though was gone forever; she actually felt sorry.

* * *

"We're going *where* tonight?!" Brooklyn demanded when Goliath said that he accepted an invitation from Xanatos. "Are you *nuts*?!"

"We must go, for Elisa's sake," Goliath replied, his voice soft and calm. "To accept Xanatos's request and not show would be dishonest, Brooklyn."

"He's right, lad," Hudson said, getting to his feet. "Ye do care for Elisa, don't ya boy?"

Brooklyn nodded his head. "Of course, we all like Elisa. But I still don't like the idea of Demona being there. Have you forgotten all the things she's done in the past?"

He growled darkly and the others grimaced. They all knew that Brooklyn felt more strongly toward Demona than the rest of them. She had betrayed him, made a fool of him. And the young gargoyle wanted revenge.

"No!" Goliath growled, getting upset with the young warriors' distrusts. "But we have to see for ourselves, only then can we be certain."

Inside he felt himself hoping that Demona had changed her ways, that she might wish to return to her clan. But if she would return to them, what of her new mate Xanatos spoke of? What would the others think of a new gargoyle in their home?

Elisa was due to arrive soon, and after that they could be on their way to Xanatos's little 'party.' When he had told her where they were going, she was not very pleased. She reminded him of the time he went to Xanatos's wedding and what had followed...or, rather, what had preceded, if you wanted to get technical... He told her that they had to go, that this time was different and nothing would go wrong. Because it was Goliath who asked, she agreed but said it was only to keep an eye on Xanatos. She hated him with a passion, and she would never forget what that man had done to Derek.

On a few occasions she had asked him where he had gotten the money for her gift. She said she had it appraised at one of the high-priced jewelers and that it was worth about six hundred dollars. Just like before, he would simply smile and say just what she had often said, "It was on sale."

He still pictured the look on her face when he said that. The odd stare she gave him, with her mouth hung open. For the first time in years he actually laughed. Not like he normally did, but a good heartfelt laugh.

"Hiya, Elisa," Lexington said as their human comrade stepped into the room.

"Welcome back, Elisa," Goliath said politely. "Are you ready to go?"

"Sure," she replied, patting the gun she had holstered to her shoulder. "Anytime you are." It was quite salient under her tight-fitting clothes.

Goliath shook his head. "I don't think you'll need that with us around, Elisa. I will protect you if Xanatos tries anything."

She smiled and patted his arm. "I know that, Goliath, but let's just say I don't feel complete without it."

"Very well," he sighed. "Come on, everybody, we don't want to keep Xanatos waiting."

It took quite a long time for them to reach Xanadune, but as they soared over the wooded area everything was familiar. They could see the damaged trees where they had once battled Hyena and Jackal. Not far from there were the dim lights of Xanatos's private cabin.

Goliath could feel Elisa shifting uncomfortably in his arms as they approached. He understood why she did not approve of this party; Xanatos was by no means her friend. 

They made one low circle over the cabin and saw no cars parked in front. There wasn't anybody around outside so they came in low and landed a few feet from the front door.

Elisa slid from Goliath's grasp and waited for them to make the first move. Goliath looked at Elisa and approached the front door. He was about to knock when it opened. David Xanatos was standing there, smiling in that patented manner of his. 

"Welcome, Goliath," he said, ushering them inside. "I'm glad you made it."

The interior of the cabin was cozy, a single brick fireplace with a thick bear rug in front of it. A full kitchen was off to the left and a door leading to what was probably a bedroom to the right.

There was no television to be seen and a long table was erected against the back wall. Atop it were several kinds of exotic foods and a large bowl of red punch. The area in front of the fireplace was taken up by a love seat.

Sitting in front of the love seat were eight chairs. Elisa shook her head and tried not to laugh.

"Nice setup, Xanatos," she remarked. "So when're Demona and her new 'friend' gonna show?"

Xanatos looked at his watch and smiled. "Owen should be bringing them in just a few minutes. Please, have some refreshments while you wait."

Elisa could not seem to get the hang of Xanatos treating them so nicely. Food and drink in a secluded cabin seemed like the perfect setup for something to happen. She stuck a finger in the punch and licked it cautiously, testing for any sort of recognizable sedative of poison.

"I half expected to see Professor Mercure and Venus to be here as well," Goliath commented, somewhat disappointed.

Xanatos shook his head with a shrug of his shoulders. "I invited them, but they were unable to make it."

Broadway decided to take Xanatos up on his offer and began sampling the food. Brooklyn and Lex shrugged to each other and decided to join their large comrade.

"I like your new jewelry, Detective Maza," David said, noticing the thin chain around her neck.

She placed her hand on the hidden object and tried not to smile her satisfaction. "Ah, yes. . . It was a gift from Goliath and the others."

David looked at Goliath for a moment and winked. Goliath gave him a scowl and hoped that Elisa did not notice. Xanatos just smiled and stepped before the blazing fireplace.

"I know what you're thinking, detective Maza," he said without facing them. "You think I'm going to try something, and in a small way  you are correct."

"What!" Goliath snapped, quickly angered. "You said there would be no trickery!" He should have known better than to take the word of Xanatos! What kind of fool had he been?!

The others noticed their leader's anger and all eyes fell upon Xanatos, most smoldering threateningly.

Noticing what was going on, the billionaire held up his hand and shook his head. "I have no intentions of harming any of you. But in a short time I wish to unveil something to you. I think you'll find them quite interesting."

Ye seem to be full of surprises, t'night, Xanatos," Hudson said, crossing his arms. His fingers inched to the hilt of his ancient sword. "Mind filling us in some more about this unveiling?"

"Nope," David replied shortly, shaking his head. "You'll find that out later on. But for now I think I hear our guests of honor coming up the drive."

 All attention was turned at the sound on an approaching car from outside. Xanatos instructed everybody to stand in front of the fireplace and wait for them to enter.

They reluctantly followed his orders and everybody, especially Goliath, waited for somebody to enter. There were some footsteps approaching the door and when it opened Owen stepped in and seemed to hesitate. Maza clicked off the safety of her pistol in its holster.

"Is everything ready, Mister Xanatos?" he asked. "Demona in particular is quite... nervous."

"Nervous," Brooklyn spat. "Shyeah, right. She'll probably come barging in with a bazooka pointed at our heads. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Yer quite wrong there, me friend," came a Scottish voice from outside.

A well-built man wearing a light brown suit entered the room first. He ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair and looked at the other gargoyles.

"Ye all look just like she told me," he said, smiling.

"Th' names MacGregor, James MacGregor." Brooklyn rolled his eyes. Let me guess, he thought, a martini; shaken, not stirred?

"So where's Demona and this new mate of hers?" Broadway said as he stuffed a sandwich in his mouth.

"You're looking at him," came Demona's familiar voice from somewhere behind him.

"WHAT?!!" Goliath bellowed, nearly knocking the others down with his wings. Elisa sidestepped quickly. "What are you talking about?"

They had seen Demona in many ways and doing many things, but none of them were prepared for this entrance. MacGregor turned around and took her hand as she stepped inside. It wasn't her looks or the way she spoke, but the size of her abdomen that caught all of their attentions.

"You're. . ." Elisa breathed, sounding like she was unable to catch her breath. "You're. . ."

"Pregnant," Demona finished flatly, placing a hand on her belly. "You can say it, Detective Maza. He and I are going to be parents."

A surge of intense hatred built up within Goliath but he knew that this was not the place. He looked at the human standing next to her, holding her hand and smiling. What made it even worse was she sidled up to him and slid her arm around his waist.

"But if it's his then how?" Lexington asked, quite amazed. "He's a human and your a gargoyle. . . You mean you two, umm, a human. . . That's really. . . Bizarre!"

 "It's not natural!" Hudson said, getting a grip on things.

"No!" Demona said, quite aware of how they all felt. "It's something none of you care about-- love! You don't know that you're alive until you've loved somebody. What if it was your precious *Maza* who bore a gargoyle's child?!"

Hudson blinked. "Er, well, that's different, she's--*"

Demona cut him off abruptly. "I love him, and he loves me! Nothing any of you can say will change that! Perhaps we should leave now, James. I can see that they don't approve of us at all!"

"No, please!" Goliath said, pushing his way to the front. "We were not expecting something like this. When Xanatos said you had a mate, we expected another gargoyle. This is a bit much to...assimilate."

Goliath sighed and bowed his head. "I must say that I felt quite upset when I heard you found a new mate. . . Er, human. But Xanatos said that you've changed. How?"

"Please, everybody!" David said. "Let's let them sit down and relax so they can answer your questions."

They grumbled at Xanatos's request, but it was his home and they needed to respect that, even if he had stolen their home from them. One by one they each took a seat while MacGregor and Demona sat on the love seat. Although the human and female gargoyle looked odd, one could see they were attracted to one another. One could also see just how viciously protective Demona was being, of both her stomach and her mate.

"Ye all must have questions?" MacGregor asked.

"Um, yeah," Brooklyn replied. "Is the child. . . Well, you know? Yours?"

MacGregor nodded. "It is, my friend. Although it's appearance is that of a gargoyle, a female t' be exact. We've decided on the name Mistra."

"That's really interesting," Elisa said, still awed by the odd mating. "But I'd like to hear Goliath's question answered. How is it you've changed, Demona?"

Demona sighed and bowed her head as if it pained her to talk about her past. Always this human was causing her pain! "When I first met James, I wanted nothing more from him than to discover why we turn to stone during the day."

"But I thought you were human during the day now?" Elisa replied.

"I was, or so I thought," she said, shrugging her shoulders coldly. "I don't know what happened after our last battle but I don't turn into a human anymore."

She told the story exactly the way it happened when they had first met at Gen-U-Tech. They listened as she told them of what had happened in the past with Robert MacGregor and how they had cared for each other. She spoke of his death and of the final kiss she had given him before he died.

"I was amazed at how much he looked and acted like Robert MacGregor," she continued, trying to finish her story. "You might say it was love at first sight.

"In that time he brought out the feelings I had buried away for so many years. He cared not for the way I looked, but instead taught me to love again. He is not like humans... er, *other* humans, I mean." She glowered as if she had let something slip which she didn't want to.

"Fascinating story," Xanatos replied, sounding intrigued.

"You said a short time ago that you asked him to find out how we turn to stone during the day," Lex added. "Did he?"

"I did," MacGregor replied, smiling. "I also discovered the method to stop it, although I haven't tried it yet. Apparently magic can be affected by science, but I'm no expert at it."

Hudson shook his head. "Why would you want to remain flesh and blood during the day, lass? It's been the way of our race to become statues for generations. Besides, you would loose any ability to regenerate."

"My immortality grants its own, more efficient healing factor," she countered. "But besides that: Didn't you ever want to see what a sunrise looked like?" she asked them "To feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, to view wonders seen only during the day?

"I discovered this when I was human, and it was the best thing I have ever felt." Demona explained. "But I was alone then, with nobody to share it with... Until now."

The gargoyles, with the exception of Hudson, seemed interested in the professor's project. Brooklyn said he would give anything to see just one sunrise, as did Broadway and Lexington. Goliath simply bowed his head and remained silent the entire time.

"But I never thought that humans and gargoyles can have children together," Hudson said, seeming more interested. At any rate, he wasn't grasping his sword any more." How is this possible?"

"When I scanned Demona's body t' find out more aboot her genetic makeup," MacGregor began, "the machine performed a scan of her reproductive organs. When I examined th' scan I discovered the it's almost identical to a human female.

"They're only a few minor differences. The first is that usually female gargoyles lay eggs," he added, trying to make it as simple as possible by stating the obvious. "But, I noticed that there are actually two separate areas for embryological development.

"The first is located just above th' tail section where the egg is formed. This is done by the male gargoyle's semen, but the mother also has a womb. This is what threw me off for a while, I didn'a know how it worked... This is just a theory, mind ye.

"Somehow your kind have a, what can I call it. . . A backup feature I suppose, where upon ye can adapt to breeding with humans. The only thing I can guess is that human and gargoyle males have similar semen. It seems likely that humans created gargoyles sometime long ago by bringing statues to life in order to protect buildings.

I know that protection is an incessant desire in your kind. The theory of human-created gargoyles might explain the inter-breeding possibility.

"The only difference is possibly a male gargoyle has a special nutrient t' form a shell around th' embryo. But gargoyle females have a womb, thus human males can interbreed with them." 

When he had finished his explanation he sat back and breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone seemed to look at each other in wonder at the professors detailed, and somewhat graphic, explanation.

Elisa was interested as well, and before she could stop herself she looked at MacGregor and asked a question that had been burning in her throat.

"What about the other way around? Could a gargoyle male sire a human woman's child?" she asked, then realized that the others were there as well.

She sucked in her breath instantly.

Demona noticed this, chuckled under her breath and looked at MacGregor. "Yes, my love, is that possible?" Now it was time to see Maza squirm.

Before Elisa could withdraw the question and play stupid, the professor cleared his throat and answered.

"From what I've learned from Demona's body it might indeed work th' same way, though I have'na had a male gargoyle to analyze," he said, getting everybody's attention again.

"Professor?" Brooklyn spoke softly, getting to his feet. "This great and all, but I'd like to say something. If you're looking for somebody to test Demona's flesh-by-day project on, then I'll volunteer."

"Why, lad?" Hudson asked, turning around to face him. "Because just once I want to see the world during the day," he replied whistfully. "I want to feel the sun on my skin, to fly in the clear bright sky. If just for one day, I'm willing to risk it."

"Yeah," Broadway and Lex added, getting to their feet. "You can count us in as well."

"Can you be sure this cure of yours will work?" Goliath said softly.

"All th' tests prove that it should, Goliath," he replied. "But as I've said I haven't a tested it on a gargoyle yet."

"Very well," Goliath replied, looking at Demona, a thin smile on his face. "If it works then I will try it as well." To be with Elisa during the day...

Everybody turned and looked at Goliath as if he were out of his mind. Out of all of them he was the last one they thought would be willing to do it.

"You're all crazy!" Elisa said, looking upset. "Based on his words you're willing to go through with this? How can we be sure Xanatos, Demona and MacGregor aren't working together? God, he could be another Sevarius!"

Her words were heightened as Hudson tried to interfere with the others willingness. As they began talking to each other about it, they paid no attention to Elisa and Demona.

Demona got to her feet and approached Elisa, the look on her face bordering on sadness. Elisa braced herself for an attack but when she noticed the uncharacteristic softness in Demona's eyes she stopped.

"I would have thought you'd understand me, Detective Maza," she said softly so the others could not hear. "I've seen in the past how Goliath treats you. You may not know it but he likes you very much; as his former mate I can sense it in him."

"I still think you're crazy," Elisa replied vehemently, but inside she felt bad about saying that. "I'm happy for you, Demona, but you know the kind of person I am."

"Yes," the pregnant woman replied, placing her hand on the detective's shoulder. "You are a cautious detective, and you have every right not to trust me. But I am telling the truth, no matter what you think."

Without warning Demona felt a quick, sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She winced at the odd feeling and seemed to get dizzy. 

"What's wrong?" Elisa asked, noticing her reaction. Was this another of Demona's tricks?

Demona shook her head. "I don't know, all of a sudden I feel so dry. Perhaps I'll get something to drink."

Elisa nodded and watched as Demona stepped over to the food table. She picked up a glass, dipped it into the red liquid and drank from it. Demona seemed to get better so Elisa turned towards the gargoyles and listened to their discussion.

She was going to say something when the sound of a glass hitting the floor split through the air. Elisa turned to look at Demona as she grabbed at her midsection and screamed. The sudden shriek brought everything to a silent halt as Demona doubled over the table. She grasped at the cloth and as she fell, dragging everything to the floor with her.

"No!" MacGregor yelled, getting to his feet. "Not now, not here, Demona!"

Everybody, including Xanatos and Owen, raced over as MacGregor knelt next to her. Demona screamed again as a large quantity of liquid burst from between her legs. 

Brooklyn's red skin paled and Lexington turned his head.

"What wrong with her?!" Goliath bellowed, pushing everybody out of the way.

"I think she's in labor!" MacGregor replied, looking very scared. "Everybody get back, now!"

Goliath gritted his teeth and in one quick motion forced the others to get back. Xanatos looked at Owen. Xanatos was visibly worried, though it was more of an annoyance than an upset feeling. Owen said nothing.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Xanatos said. "Whatever you need I'll get it. You have the world's largest corporation and all its resources on your side."

"No time!" MacGregor replied as Demona bellowed in pain. "I don't a want to risk moving her."

"What can you do?" Hudson asked.

The professor turned and looked at all of them, his expression was that of fear. "I have no choice but to try and deliver the child now. Get me some towels and warm washcloths, I'll also need pair of scissors and perhaps a very sharp knife." 

Xanatos nodded quickly and dashed into the kitchen, still managing to look calm and cool. Owen waited for a second and followed.

With everything going on at once they had no idea of what was going on outside. From behind the trees and bushes five dark figures with guns approached the cabin, fanning out in a professional manner.

They heard the sudden screams from within and held back to see if anybody would come out. The dark figures waited a few minutes and started approaching again. One of them ducked under a window and peered inside.

He ducked back down, looked at one of the others and held up nine fingers. The man nodded and waved his hand in the air. Soon after, four more figures moved from the shadows.

Three approached the front door while the others waited. One of them turned the handle and nodded to his comrades. The other held up his hand and using his fingers counted down from five. 

When his last finger went down he shoved the door open and they swarmed inside, guns ready.

It wasn't hard for the occupants of the cabin to notice the new commotion and turn to face the dark intruders.

"Everybody remain where they are!" one dark figure warned as they pointed their guns. "All we've come for is Professor MacGregor and his work. If you don't remain docile, you are expendable."

"No!" Goliath roared at the intruder. "If you value your lives you will leave now!"

The dark figure shook his head and looked down at MacGregor and Demona. While his men kept the others at bay he pointed his own gun at him and approached. 

Demona, through all her pain, looked at the oncoming figure and hissed angrily. The man halted for a moment, but seeing her predicament continued forward.

The gargoyles were about to try and rush the attackers but did not want to risk Demona or the professor. All they could do for the moment was watch angrily.

"Come, Professor," the figure said. "If you value that thing's life you will come with us now!"

He shook his head. "If I go she might die! You have no idea what is going on here! She *needs* me! With a human or a gargoyle there might be some hope, but with a *hybrid*...? Please let me finish!"

The man shook his head and pointed the barrel of his gun at Demona's belly. "Come with us or they both die!"

Looking down at Demona, quite helpless in her condition, he hoped that she would have a chance if he went. He did not know who these men were or why they wanted him. Taking Demona's hand he said he was sorry and started to stand.

"No," she moaned painfully. "Don't leave me! I lost your ancestor, I don't want to lose you!"

James smiled softly, kissing her gently on her cheek.

The figure shook his head and watched as the professor slowly stood up.

"Very good, professor," he said, waving his gun towards the door. "Let's waste no more time."

From somewhere outside they heard a new scream, unlike anything they had heard yet. The figure turned in the direction of the sound just as one of his men came crashing through a window, torn asunder.

The sudden surprise caught the other dark figures off guard and the gargoyles reacted with inhuman reflexes. In mere seconds the intruders were locked into hand to hand combat. Growling under his breath he brought his gun to bear on MacGregor, then on to Demona.

"What's going on here?" he growled as more of his men, once outside, were now running inside.

From the looks on their faces something outside had them scared to death. He grabbed the professor and turned him around and used him as a human shield.

Three shots rang out and three men died. As they fell all eyes turned to Elisa, with her set jaw and smoking gun. "I've taken down a squad of professional killers single-handedly," she said grimly. "And you come in here,  threatening my friends and loved ones?" She pulled back the hammer and leveled her piece at the commando leader, trying to get a clear shot. "I don't think so."

As the others fought he backed away from the fray and searched for another way out. Most of his men were rapidly getting the life beaten from them when he noticed the bedroom door. Someone attacked the cop with incredible speed, but she dropped him before he got close enough to kill her. Who *was* this woman? She looked part Indian. Was she some sort of Xanatos assassin? No matter. He had to move now, while her attention was drawn.

He forced the professor to follow him as he tried to make for the bedroom door.

"Open it!" he spat, poking the gun into MacGregor's back. The professor did as he was told, but when the door opened both saw a large creature within. The dark figure gasped and backed away from it. In the process he released MacGregor and decided to simply get the hell out alive. Things were *not* going according to plan.

From within the bedroom the strange creature stepped out into the light. It was similar to the other Gargoyles. Only its skin tone and a few facial features were different. It had short blonde hair and light brown skin. Like the other creatures, it wore a simple loincloth. The beast growled at him and bared its fangs.

He was going to try for the front door when yet another gargoyle emerged, this one was a black haired female. Her eyes glowed menacingly.

With all the exits blocked by creatures or fighting he could think of only one thing. Pointing his gun at the creature he opened fire. The armor piercing shells tore into the thing's hide, knocking it off balance and forcing it to list to one side.

But a moment later it turned back toward him, snarling viciously. The bullet holes were clearly visible and very deep, yet there was no blood.

"No!" he cried. "Goddammit, play fair!" He was losing it now. How could he be expected to kill something that wouldn't die? "You can't all be bullet proof!" he yelled, turning his gun towards Demona.

"NO!" MacGregor yelled and threw himself at the figure.

He grabbed the gun barrel and shoved it upwards seconds before it went off. The figure growled and shoved the butt into the professor's stomach. MacGregor grunted in pain but did not let go of the gun.

MacGregor used his free hand and punched as hard as he could at the figure's face. His attack worked as the figure's head went stretching backwards and grunting. With the attacker temporarily disorientated, he swung again and struck the side of the figure's head. With a loud smack the killer spun in a half circle and went crashing to the floor.

He took a moment to see what the other gargoyles were doing and noticed that some had gone outside to fight. The only ones left inside were Goliath, Elisa and Owen, of all people.

Xanatos's aid crouched before a dark figure and jumped up with a spinning back kick. The figure spun in a complete circle before crashing into the floor. Interesting, thought MacGregor. That man is almost as good as Elisa.

For a moment he looked at the two new gargoyles and then ran back to Demona. She was grasping at her abdomen and yelling from the pain. Trying to keep a calm head he undid her belt and removed her loincloth. The liquid had already soaked through it and pooled on the floor.

"Try and relax a little, Demona," he said softly, grabbing her hand and squeezing. "Just lie back and breath deeply."

She looked at him and shook her head. "I can't, something's wrong. My kind do not go through this kind of pain. It feels like she's trying to claw her way out. I-Augh!"

"Your kind usually lay eggs, Demona," he said, trying to get her to calm down. "This isn'a an egg, it's a living gargoyle."

She nodded her head as another spasm of pain shot through her body, causing her to scream. Using the primordial acts of instinct she sat up and pushed. MacGregor put his other hand on her belly and gently pressed down. He was no doctor but he was a scientist so he had a general idea of how it was supposed to work.

Gritting her teeth she pushed again and felt something emerging from between her legs. MacGregor looked down at the tiny gargoyle head. Although wet and covered with unnatural slime he could see it's dark red hair.

Looking around, he noticed that he had none of the items he had ask for. He noticed Elisa dispatch one of the figures and he yelled at her to come here.

She waited a moment to be sure it was safe and then hurried over to him and knelt down. It wasn't to see MacGregor holding the tiny head. For some reason she found herself smiling at the baby.

She found it wonderful.

"Detective Maza," he said, getting her attention. "I NEED some warm wet towels and a large dry cloth. Please go into the kitchen and get them, and bring back a sharp knife too!"

Elisa nodded and sped into the kitchen. Since she had never been in here it took a few moments to find everything. The towel was easy, as several were folded above the sink. But Xanatos would need to pick up everything that was in every drawer, since it was now all over the floor.

She ran the water until it was warm and soaked three of the smaller towels. Ringing them out she dashed back into the living area, she guessed the battle was almost over since there was nobody left in the cabin but them.

"Detective!" MacGregor yelled. "Bring them here, please! NOW!"

Swearing at herself, she hurried over and handed him one of the wet cloths. By now the baby gargoyle was completely out and he began wiping the green ooze from its body. It's skin seemed to be more flesh colored than Demona's off-blue skin. But it had dark red hair, thin leathery wings wrapped around its body and a short, pointed tail.

Without realizing it she felt tears well up in her eyes and one escaped down her cheek. Demona was breathing easier and grasped her arm and smiled.

"Here, Detective," MacGregor said, placing the baby in the dry towel she had. "Hold her while I take care of the cord, please."

It was then she actually noticed the long thin cord attached to the baby's belly. MacGregor took the knife an with a flick of his wrist, cut it. Demona looked up suddenly and pointed to the figure he had fought earlier.

The intruder was slowly getting up and shaking his head. He saw his gun lying a few feet away and leaped for it. MacGregor did not think twice and dashed for it as well, knowing what the figure would do with it.

They reached it almost at the same time but the dark figure was slightly faster. MacGregor tried to punch him again but the man ducked and shoved the butt of his gun into MacGregor's gut for a second time.

He grunted in pain but did not go down. Deep within he knew he had to protect Demona and their daughter. Growling away the pain, he noticed the man bringing the gun to bear on Demona and Elisa. With whatever speed he could muster he raced towards the two women and got between the figure and them as a shot rang out. 

Elisa saw and heard the spurt of blood erupt from MacGregor's chest sending him flying back. Demona noticed it as well and screamed in terror as her love crashed to the floor.

Quickly handing the infant to Demona, Elisa drew her own gun and fired at the dark figure.

Her shot struck the man in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards into the chairs. She dropped the gun and raced to MacGregor's side. He was still alive but she only needed to look at the injury to know how serious it was.

"JAMES!" Demona screamed again, tears streaming down her face. "Not again... NOT AGAIN!"

MacGregor noticed Elisa pressing her hand on the wound. The burning pain was excruciating but he knew he had to get back to Demona.

"Detective," he gasped. "Help me get back to Demona." 

Elisa shook her head. "You're not doing anything until we can get some help. Goliath!" she screamed. "Get in here fast!"

"Elisa," MacGregor moaned, using her first name. "You know what's going to happen. Please, let me see Demona and our daughter one last time."

She had seen many people get shot during her career and knew what he was talking about. Nodding her head, she helped him to his feet and escorted him to Demona's side. He lay down next to her and reached out to touch the child. The baby was squirming around in the towel as Demona held it close to her chest, mewling more softly than one might expect.

"James," she said, still crying. "Look how beautiful she looks. She's got my hair and your eyes."

"Elisa," MacGregor whispered. "Tell Goliath that he should talk to his sister. Venus wanted to have a child, but she's unable too."

"What?" Elisa asked. "Why didn't Scott tell Goliath this?"

"He and Venus were afraid of what he'd say," James moaned. "They need the support of you and the others. Tell Goliath this, will you?"

Elisa nodded her head and tried her best not to begin crying. She knew what was about to happen, and it was tearing her insides apart.

He smiled and nodded. "Take care of her, Demona. I trust on you to know what to do."

"Don't you leave me, MacGregor!" Demona cried, sounding quite angry. Her claws bit deeply into the hardwood floor "I'll never forgive you if you do."

James shook his head. "Sorry, my love, but sometimes even the happiest of stories must come to an end at some point in time. Mine is now."

Demona shook her head as she watched the life slowly running from the wound in his chest. He grasped her hand and squeezed for a short time before slowly going limp. She felt his strong grip loosen and his eyes flutter closed.

"NO!" she screamed as loud as she could.

She handed the squirming infant to Elisa roughly and threw herself on top of him. Elisa knew there was nothing she could do for him and she let a single tear escape from her eye, falling off her cheek onto the infant's innocent and curious face.

By this time the others had finished with the intruders and were rushing back into the cabin. They noticed the bundle Elisa was holding, then saw MacGregor's still form. Demona was still laying on him, crying uncontrollably, her talons sinking deep into the corpse's back without her realizing it.

Goliath looked at Elisa and frowned. Elisa shook her head and held the infant close to her. From the body lying a few feet away with the gun next to it they knew what had transpired.

Elisa said he would have shot her and Demona if MacGregor hadn't gotten between them. Even Xanatos and Owen looked down at the professor and Demona with the closest thing they could manage to sadness.

"Brave man," Xanatos said softly, his arms across his chest. "And a valuable employee. A pity."

"Yes," Goliath replied, approaching Demona and kneeling down next to her. "Demona, you've got to let him go. You're child needs you to be with her."

Demona shook her head and continued to cry. "I don't want the child, I want him! Why did this have to happen? First Robert now James."

She released the grip she had on his body and growled with anger.

"HUMANS!" she bellowed. "Always the goddamned humans bastards! They will pay for this, James's death with not go unpunished!"

"Demona," Goliath said softly. "Go to your daughter. Fulfill the wish he asked of you."

Still crying with anger she pushed herself away from James body. Goliath grabbed one of the towels and tied it around her waist. Demona looked up at him leaned on his arm for support. 

Elisa carried the child to Demona and placed it gently into her arms. The baby whined softly as it struggled in the towel it was wrapped in.

"She's beautiful, Demona," Goliath said, smiling. "You should be very proud."

"Did you look at Mistra's hands?" Elisa said. "If not then I think it'll interest you."

Demona unwrapped one of the baby's arms and looked at the tiny clawed hand. She and Goliath had to look twice to be sure they weren't seeing thing.

The child had FIVE fingers instead of four. Much like a human only tipped with tiny talons.

"She has more of her fathers features then you thought."

Elisa smiled. "I... I envy you, Demona."

"Envy me?" Demona replied softly. Her lips twisted into a snarl. "*Envy* me? You worthless human sow! My mate was just gunned down by you and your spineless kind! ENVY me?!"

"But Demona," interjected Elisa. "*James* was human--*"

"HE WAS NOT!!" the gargoyle shrieked, frightening the baby within her arms. "NEVER say that! You have no right! He was better than all of you, you weak, puny, fleshling primates!"

Xanatos was searching the bodies of the dead mercenaries. He found nothing, not even a wallet.

"Whoever they were they seemed to be professionals. See," he said, holding up the dead man's hand. "Their hands and features and have been altered. No fingerprints, probably had plastic surgery as well."

Demona pushed away from Goliath and looked at James again. "Leave."

Goliath just blinked. "What?"

"Leave!" snapped Demona furiously. The others understood that she wished to be left alone with MacGregor, and silently they exchanged glances.

The group nodded and filed out the door. Demona knelt down next to James and reached into his pocket. She withdrew the old journal and looked at it for a long time.

Within its leather bound pages was the life of Robert MacGregor. She would continue the story, only this time it would be about James.

It wouldn't be much since she had only known him for a few months. She loved the child, but the journal was something she would not leave behind.

Grabbing her discarded loincloth and belt she slowly walked into the adjacent bedroom. There was a large glass door where the strange gargoyle had no doubt entered.

She hobbled out the door and into the dark woods. At sunrise they would turn to stone, and she would heal. What would happen in the future would behind tomorrow night. She would avenge James's death, and all would pay dearly.

Damn the human scum.

* * *

"You have some explaining to do about those new robots of yours, Xanatos." Elisa said as they began filing back into the cottage.

"Hey!" she suddenly said in alarm. "Where's Demona?"

Goliath hurried inside and saw James still lying there, but Demona was nowhere around. Everybody fanned out and searched the cabin. Nothing.

They tried to search the surrounding woods but it was dark and their search was futile. They all entered the cabin again and seemed upset at Demona's leaving.

"At least she didn't leave her daughter behind," Xanatos said softly. "I wonder what kind of mother she would make..."

"A good one!" Goliath growled at him angrily. "What do you intend to do about professor MacGregor?"

"He will have a proper burial," he replied. "I shall take care of everything. Is there anything special you want me to do?"

Goliath shook his head. "No. He was very special to Demona, so he is special to me. Treat the body well. Notify Elisa when and where the funeral will take place."

Xanatos nodded and asked Owen to call the police to report the incident.

"I would suggest you all leave before the rest of the police get here," David suggested, indicating Elisa. "My robots will return to the castle."

Goliath nodded and led the other gargoyles outside. Elisa climbed onto his back as he made his way up a large oak tree. 

When he was high enough she slid into his arms. He leapt off the large branch he was standing upon and soared off into the night.

The others did the same. All had one thing running through their minds. Was it a possibility that even Demona could find love? If she had, could she change her ways? None of them could answer that question but knew only time would tell.

They had the feeling they had no seen the last of Demona.

Part 4: "Demona's Desires"

Four days later

The quarter moon hung high in the dark sky as eleven people stood before a silent grave. A casket adorned with flowers lay suspended over a rectangular hole. Lights cast from soft lamps erected around the burial site provided eerie illumination.

Goliath and Elisa stepped out of the mixed group of gargoyles and humans. He took her hand and looked down at the casket to offer prayer. He knew very little of James MacGregor, but if he managed to love Demona then he deserved to be honored.

Everybody was still amazed that Xanatos somehow coaxed a real priest to be present at MacGregor's funeral. To everyone's amazement the priest was blind; a little added feature from Xanatos. He had just finished reciting the burial rites and closed his bible.

Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway and Lex stepped up after Goliath and Elisa and added their own silent prayers. Xanatos and Owen were also present, since Xanatos was paying for everything it was only proper. The last to add prayer was professor Scott and Venus.

Goliath and the others looked at the couple and could not help but feel sad. When Elisa had told them about what MacGregor had said before he died they were shocked.

When confronted they told the entire story of them trying to have children. They had enlisted the help of Xanatos because of his connection with Gen-U-Tech. When he introduced them to James MacGregor their hopes were that he could help.

But their quest was proven futile when the geneticist told them it was not possible. Science was unable to help them with their desire to have children. Venus looked down at what had been their only hope of children and started to cry. Scott put his arm around her waist and held her close. The others hung their heads and felt sorry for them, especially Goliath.

She was his blood sister and there was nothing he could offer to help them. Friendship and protection was all he had to

give.

"I can't believe Demona isn't here." Elisa said quietly. "I mean, she loved him."

Goliath sighed and could not believe it himself. A minute later a new formed appeared from the shadows. Demona, looking like her normal self, approached the casket. In her arms was a small bundle wrapped in a white blanket.

She looked at the group for a moment before kneeling before her former love. The child in her arms began to whine softly and she began rocking her. When she spoke is what so soft that nobody could understand it. It didn't matter, unless they could speak Latin they wouldn't be able to understand her anyway.

When she was finished she wiped a tear from her face and stood.

"Thank you for doing this for him." She said in a non-caring tone. "I loved James dearly, perhaps more than any of you could ever imagine."

Demona stepped up to Venus and put a hand on her shoulder. Venus looked at the tiny infant and smiled. Demona was about to say something when Venus looked away and started to cry.

The others noticed it and looked at Demona, as if asking her to say something nice. She didn't know Venus very well, but she did feel sorry for her. She cradled Mistra in her arms and started to walk away from the burial site when something stopped her. Looking down at the flesh colored baby she began to cry herself.

"It's not fair, Puck." She grumbled to herself. "You'll be sorry for what you've done. . . I swear!"

Spinning around she again approached Venus and stood a foot away from her. Everybody watched in puzzlement as Demona kissed Mistra on the cheek. What they were not prepared for was Demona handed the child to Venus. She took her without thinking and was unable to say anything.

"Take care of her." Demona said, pointing to Scott. "A child deserves a mother, a father and a nice home." As she turned to walk away she added something. "Do not fear, I will not try and reclaim her."

With that she started to walk away again when Scott hurried after her. He called her name and she stopped and asked him what he wanted. From the sound of her voice she was not very talkative at the moment.

"Demona" Scott said softly. "Why are you doing this? She's your daughter."

Demona turned to face him, tears streaming down her face. "I don't know how to take care of her." She whispered. "But the main reason is that I don't want her to become like me."

Without thinking the professor place a gentle hand on her shoulder. She felt as if she should swipe it away, but she did not have the willpower.

"Venus and myself live on Ward's Island, a few miles south of the hospital." He said softly. "I'll program the security system to allow you entry. Whenever you want to see her feel free to visit anytime."

She looked into his eyes, soft and caring and slid into a gentle hug. "Thank you, professor. I will never forget the kindness you've shown me. I wish you and Venus the best of luck."

He felt her slip out of his arms and back away. Demona smiled one last time before ducking into the shadows. Scott stood there for a few seconds before returning to the others.

Goliath asked him what he and Demona had talked about but he simply shook his head. The large gargoyle did not seem to like his answer but said nothing. Xanatos walked up to the priest and said his thanks. He led the blind man to his black limo and bid the others farewell.

David said all the arrangement for burying MacGregor were taken care of. The men would arrive within the hour to finish the job. With that said he got into the limo and drove off into the night. Goliath watched it leave and approached Venus, who looked quite stunned.

She gazed down at the tiny gargoyle and smiled. In her arms was the very thing she wanted, a child. It's tiny tail could be felt curled around its body as well as the wings. Mistra squirmed slightly and growled, ever so softly.

Goliath looked over her shoulder and smiled. "You're going to be a wonderful mother, my sister. You have my blessings."

"Thank you, Goliath." She sniffed, hugging the baby. "But I still don't understand why Demona gave her up?"

Scott approached them and frowned. "Demona felt as if she was unable to take care of her properly. She also said that she didn't want Mistra to grow up to be like her."

Everybody looked at him and gaped in wonder. The one thing they seemed to expect was that Demona would have wanted Mistra to be like her.

Goliath looked into the sky and sighed. "Demona may hate human kind, but under that hatred beats a heart."

Elisa put her hand on his arm and smiled. "It's time for us to get going."

The large gargoyle nodded and instructed the other to return to the clock tower. He bid his farewell, picked Elisa up in his arms and followed the others.

Scott gazed into Venus's eyes and said they should leave as well. Venus nodded and said she wanted to say one last good-bye to James MacGregor. The professor smiled and said he would wait by the limo.

She approached the casket and knelt down. "Thank you, James MacGregor, for what you did for Demona. I promise to take very good care of Mistra."

Wiping a tear from her eye she stood and joined Scott in the limo. Jacob closed the door, got into the drivers seat and drove off.

Once everybody had left Demona appeared from the shadows from where she was hiding. Now she could spend a few more moments alone with her human love.

"James." She sniffed, placing her hand on the casket. "You were as brave and noble as your ancestor. But unlike him you could love me, and showed it in the most wondrous manner."

She fell to her knees and began weeping. "It isn't fair! What twisted prank of fate doomed me to this life?"

Without warning a piece of paper, carried by some invisible breeze, hit her wing. Turning around she picked it up and noticed a drawing on it. Her eyes widened as she noticed what the picture depicted; herself, holding hands with James MacGregor!

What she found most unusual was that there was a picture of a baby gargoyle above them. Scrawled in the upper corner was a short message:

I did not think this would happen Demona. No words can describe how sorry I am.

- Puck -

A new feeling of hatred welt up within her, as she had figured Puck was responsible. The little changeling had been so bold as to meddle with her private life.

"Little bastard!" She grumbled. "It's all your fault, but I won't be the only one to suffer! Elisa Maza will soon know what it feels like to lose somebody she loves!

"If I can't love somebody, then neither will she!" 

Taking a running start she jumped onto one of the higher headstones and into the air. The cemetery shrank under her as she made her way home. Soon after she got home she found herself going on a rampage.

Demona paced around her living area for some time, mostly because there was nothing left to break. When she returned to her home she immediately could think of nothing but James. The couch where they had sat together was still in one piece, as was her bedroom.

She threw herself on the couch and tried to think of something else. The only thing left of whom she could think of was Goliath and how he felt about Elisa.

"That damn human!" She growled. "They don't deserve one another! I'll put a stop to that little love story."

Grinning she stood up and hurried outside. She thought about getting one of her particle weapons but she didn't want to give herself away. Climbing to the roof she took a quick glance at the city before her and leapt into the night sky.

She flew high above the city and kept her eyes peeled for any sign of the gargoyles. Manhattan was a big city and they could be anywhere. It's possible that they were not even out, but instead sitting where they now lived.

For nearly an hour she scoured the city finding no sign of Goliath or the others. Stifling a growl she banked off and started towards the Gen-U-Tech building where she had first met James.

Memories began to floor her mind as the two story structure came into view. Everybody was gone, even the lights in MacGregor's lab were out. Once again she felt tears well up in her eyes. James was gone and would never hold her again, never be able to make love to her.

She bellowed a scream and dove for the building at breakneck speed. Bracing herself she plowed through the window to James lab and came to a crashing stop on the floor. Shaking away the dizziness she turned on the lights and looked at the room. 

Everything was where is had been when she and James were working on her project. Here was the place they first met, where they discovered their love for each other. She didn't want to cry but she was unable to stop it. Burying her face in her hands she sat at the main computer and wept.

Some time passed as she continue to express her sadness. But there was another reason why she had come, and that reason was still in the safe. Entering MacGregor's private code the safe clicked open.

Within the safe was all of James's research and work, stored on tape. Everything was neatly labeled, in alphabetical order and complete. There were two shelves, the top was for tape storage while the bottom was for assorted papers.

She grabbed the tapes and put them in a carrying case that was under the table. The papers were mostly hand written notes that contained security codes and DNA sequences. As she ruffled through the papers she found a picture. She had forgotten all about that picture of them.

They were standing in front of the main computer when the photo was taken. He had put the camera, which had a timer, on a tripod. Each had their arm around the others waist and seemed very happy.

She stared at the picture for a moment and reached into her belt and took the journal. Opening the book to the last text entry she placed the picture within and put it back in her belt. Grabbing the case of tapes she bid her last farewell and crawled back out the shattered window.

* * *

One by one the gargoyles landed outside the clock tower with their usual grace. Goliath, carrying Elisa in his arms, set down last. He looked at them for a moment and vanished through the door at the base of the clock.

Elisa sighed and followed, first asking the other to wait outside for a few moments. They agreed and watched as she also vanished through the door.

Goliath was standing at the bottom of the stone steps looking up at her. Apparently he figured on her entering alone and cracked a thin smile. She smiled back and walked, faster than normal, until they were facing each other.

"Still thinking about Demona?" She asked softly.

He nodded. "Yes. She's gone though so much torment I can't understand how she can handle it. A part of me goes out to her and her bravery."

"Bravery?" Elisa asked, a little puzzled.

"If somebody like Demona can find a place in her heart for one human." He replied, his voice low and understanding. "Then perhaps there's room for more."

Elisa looked up at him and sighed. "Perhaps, but Demona has once again been struck down. I get the feeling she's not yet ready to accept my kind."

He sighed and picked her up in his arms, she did not try and stop him. She reached up and put a tiny hand on each side of his face and tugged. Goliath allowed himself to be led to her face, and they kissed. His mouth was slightly bigger than hers but somehow they managed quite well.

Little did they know that Hudson and the trio were standing at the top of the stairs. When their mentor saw what was going on he ushered the others back outside. He looked at Goliath and Elisa once more time and smiled before leaving himself.

Hudson and the others soared easily on the thermal currents above the city. His thoughts were focused on Goliath and Elisa back at the tower. He started to wonder if they would actually begin a rookery. It would be rather odd being a grandfather, at least that's what he hoped he would be.

"What do you think Demona is doing now?" Broadway asked, gliding closer to Hudson.

"Why don't you ask me yourself." Came a familiar voice from above.

Hudson and the others looked up to see Demona gliding several feet above them. She was looking at them and pointed to one of the closer rooftops.

"I have to talk to you." She said before adding a word that none of them could believe. "Please?"

Brooklyn seemed very hesitant, but after what they'd been though in the past few days he didn't say anything. Hudson nodded his head and followed Demona to the roof of a nearby high-rise.

Demona descended first and watched as the other landed several feet away. She remained still and watched as Hudson stepped closer to her. When he was about four feet away he stopped.

"So, what do ye want, lass?"

"I was hoping Goliath would be with you." She sighed. "Can you give him a message for me?"

The others looked at her suspiciously and waited for their mentor to say something.

"What is this message?" He asked. 

She seemed to look down, as if she was ashamed of what she was going to say. "Can you ask him to meet me at the waterfront. Pier seven, one hour after sundown. A week from today?"

Hudson crossed his arms and frowned. "Why?"

"Because I need to speak with him." She replied. "I'd like to do it sooner but I won't be around. "After losing James I need to get away for a while."

She looked at him again, a look of hurt in her eyes. "Will you ask this of him, Hudson?"

The old gargoyle seemed to ponder the idea for a short time before answering. "Just him and not the rest of us. Sounds a little strange to me."

"I understand your uncertainty. If it makes you feel better have him bring detective Maza as well." Demona answered. "It kind of involves her as well. Please?"

"Very well, lass." He said, his voice still sounding a little uncertain. "I'll give him yer message, but I donna guarantee that he'll go."

Demona smiled and seemed to cheer up. "That's all I need you to do. Whether or not they do come, I'll be waiting at pier seven."

Hudson and the others nodded. Demona smiled and turned to leave when Hudson put a large hand on her shoulder.

"I'm very sorry you lost MacGregor, lass." He said in a caring voice. "You have my sympathies."

"Thank you." She added before jumping into the empty sky.

Brooklyn stepped up to Hudson and shook his head. "Call me stupid but is it my imagination, or has Demona lightened up?" 

Lex shrugged his shoulders. "It's weird what love can do a person."

"You can leave me out of that stuff." Broadway added. "I'll stick my cooking."

"That's enough of that, lads." Hudson sighed. "Come, let's go see a movie or something."

"Why can't we go home?" Brooklyn asked.

The look that Hudson gave him seemed to explain why they could not go home yet. Broadway made a comment that there was a new science fiction showing. Hudson knew that Goliath and Elisa would want to be alone for awhile.

* * *

Scott was awakened by the soft sounds of crying from the corner of his room. Blinking away the sleepiness in his eyes he sat up to see Venus pacing the floor. Within her arms was Mistra, wrapped in a soft white blanket.

Venus was wearing her usual red silken nightgown, her wings draped over his shoulders like a cloak. She looked at him and smiled.

"I'm sorry she woke you up, my love, she's just hungry." He laughed under his breath and smiled. "That's okay, it's all part of being a daddy." Man, did that sound weird, he said to himself.

The professor yawned and looked at the clock; 5:00am. He had gotten quite used to hearing Mistra's strange noises. Scott had been with babies in the past, but a little gargoyle was different. He also discovered that he needed Jacob to buy things that he never needed before.

In the five days that Mistra had been here his life had taken a dramatic turn. Trying to keep up with the needs of a baby was tiresome at best. He was thankful that Jacob was always offering to help with Mistra.

In his opinion the old man was in his glories when he had Mistra. Jacob would play with her constantly, always doting on the child's every whimper.

"I'm surprised she's not with Jacob." He commented. Venus chuckled and began rocking Mistra in her arms. "Yes, he really likes her, doesn't he?"

Scott nodded and got to his feel. Venus walked over to him and placed her in his outstretched arms. He was still amazed at the tiny gargoyle, she was absolutely adorable. Her dark red hair and flesh colored skin made her look almost human. Tiny wings that looked almost transparent, were draped around her shoulders.

A tiny tail was curled around her leg.

Mistra opened her tiny eyes and looked at up him, squirming slightly. He smiled and sat back down on the bed, Venus sat down next to him. She slid her arm around Scott's waist and held him close.

They were quite happy with what they had, a family. Venus rested her head on his shoulder and tickled the infant with her talon. Mistra grinned, baring her tiny ivory fangs, and giggled softly.

Scott looked at her and smiled, a glimmer could be seen in his gaze.

"I think it's time for her morning feeding?" Venus whispered into his ear. "Why don't we let Jacob do it?"

He nodded and pressed a button on an intercom next to his bed, Jacob answered almost immediately.

"You buzzed sir?" He said, almost as if glad to be risen at five in the morning.

Scott tried not to chuckle. "Yes. Could you feed Mistra this morning, Jacob? Venus and myself was to gave a little time alone for a while."

"Of course, sir." He replied. "I'll be there in a moment." When Scott clicked off he started to laugh, as did Venus. "I think we should make him the official grandfather." Venus suggested. "He's going to spoil her rotten."

He nodded and heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. Jacob slept in a room on the first floor, how he got here so fast was still a mystery to Scott. They waited for the old man to knock before opening the door.

Jacob stood there, still wearing his nightclothes, a look of joy on his wrinkled face. Scott handed Mistra over to him and said he could have her for the rest of the morning. When Jacob asked about his duties Scott said he had the day off.

The old man nodded and walked off with her, cooing softly under his breath. Scott closed the door and collapsed on the bed laughing hysterically. Venus could only stand there and laugh herself.

Later that day, the professor was pacing around his workshop trying to come up with a solution to a particularly interesting puzzle. A few weeks ago an Egyptian museum hired him to study a very strange piece of sandstone unearthed a week earlier. Scott was always interested in Egyptian artifacts, they were his particular favorites.

The tablet itself was quite large, nearly five feet long and two feet wide. Luckily for him that his worktable was able to support such heavy items. There were other items around the tablet as well. One was a wax paper rubbing of the tablet, this was used for his private records when he was not able to keep the piece. Other things included notebooks and texts that covered both Egypt and Myan picture texts, complete with alphabet translations.

Little did he know that this piece of history was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was not written in the usual Egyptian hieroglyphics, but a combination of Egyptian and Myan.

He had never seen such a tablet before, he was puzzled at first but his degree in languages is the only thing that saved him.

The tablet was almost completed, there was five parts and he had three translated. According to the scribe it told of an ancient tomb located not too far from the famous Valley of the Kings. So far it didn't give the exact location, just clues and vague descriptions. Scott hoped the last two parts would reveal the exact location.

The deal was that if he could unravel the mystery, the museum would hire him to lead the search expedition. It had been a long time since he was in Egypt, and he was sure that Venus would like to go as well since he promised to show her the world. 

Walking up to one of many bookcases he searched for a book with detailed maps of the area around the Valley. So far all his had were clues, but hopefully he could get a basic idea of where the tomb might be located.

When he found the book he heard Jacob enter the room carrying the professor's usual snack of Coca-Cola and favorite maple cookies; direct from Quebec, Canada. Jacob put the small platter on his worktable next to the tablet.

"Thank you, Jacob." He said in his normal, polite fashion. It was then he noticed the classical music playing in the background. "Are you listening to something, Jacob?"

The old man lifted his head and listened to the melody. "The tune is: When a man loves a woman. It's being played on a piano, quite nicely too."

Scott smiled and shook his head. "I know what the melody is, Jacob, but I wasn't aware that you listened to that type of music."

"I don't sir." He replied, shaking his head. "It's coming from the main hall."

The professor shot him a perplexed look. "I don't have a stereo system in there, just an old piano my grandfather gave me."

Both Scott and Jacob looked at the other and spoke the same name: "Venus".

Locking the workroom door behind him he and Jacob hurried to the main hall. As they approached the archway the music got louder. Scott stopped at the entryway and noticed Venus sitting at the piano in the far corner. Her hands were moving on the keyboard as if she had been playing all her life.

The soft notes echoed throughout the room, giving it the sound of a concert hall. To their amazement she would use her tail to turn the pages of the music sheets. Never once did she miss a single note, they were mesmerized with her playing.

When she finished she laughed and turned around. She noticed them standing there and seemed very surprised.

"I'm sorry." She said softly. "I didn't think my playing would interrupt your work."

Scott shook his head and smiled. "I didn't know you could play the piano."

Venus shrugged her shoulders and picked up the music sheets.

"I was curious about the piano so I picked these up. The next thing I knew my hands were pressing the keys. I don't even know how to read this... " She hesitated for a minute, reading the topmost sheet. "Music."

"More of the your hidden powers, no doubt." Scott said as he approached his gargoyle bride. "Your playing was wonderful! Do you think you could do it again, this time with a different type of music?"

She shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know, all I did was sit on the bench, pick up the sheets and my hands took over."

The professor lifted the seat of the bench and removed a thin book entitled: "Beethoven's Greatest Hits." He opened it to the first page and put it on the music rest atop the piano. It was Beethoven's fifth symphony formatted for playing on a piano. 

Venus snickered at the symbols covering the sheet and sat down. Sighing deeply she touched the first sheet with her finger and then rested both hands on the center of the keyboard. Closing her eyes she began to move her fingers, each time she would strike a key the proper note would sound. In seconds she was moving expertly on the keys, sometimes so fast that Scott and Jacob had a hard time keeping up. They were amazed at how wonderful she was playing the difficult piece, never once making a mistake.

When her tail had flipped to the last page she slowed and played the last melody in a way that sounded as if it faded away.

They applauded their appreciation and Venus did the only thing she could think of. She had seen it on television a few times when somebody had finished a performance.

She bowed and said "Thank you."

* * *

Goliath leaned on the railing before his sleeping cornice and gazed at Xanatos's building. The funeral was still on his mind but what concerned him more was the new robots the billionaire had developed. Back at Xanatos's cabin he never got the chance to ask Xanatos about them. Perhaps he should have asked at the funeral but he didn't think it was appropriate.

"Still thinkin' about the funeral, lad?" Hudson asked as he appeared in the doorway.

The lavender gargoyle shook his head. "I want to know why Xanatos built those new robot gargoyles of his."

Hudson stood besides him and stared at the city below. "They were very lifelike, weren't they? Sometimes I wonder why Xanatos does things like that."

Goliath sighed and continued to look at the distant Eyrie Building. Their ancient castle home resting stop its steel structure stuck out from the other buildings.

"Because he's rich and powerful." Lex added as he approached them. "And the fact that he seems to enjoy taunting us by showing it off every chance he gets."

A few feet behind his were Brooklyn and Broadway, each looking somewhat bored. Lex jumped onto the stone railing and squinted at Castle Wyvern. High atop its stone structure he could make out tiny objects hovering above.

"Hey, look!" He said, pointing to the flying objects. "I think Xanatos is doing something right now."

Goliath squinted his eyes and saw it as well. Five shaped flying around the castle... Winged shapes.

"Lets go!" Their leader said, leaping off the platform into empty space. "I'm going to find out more about these things."

The others shook their heads and followed, leaving Bronx to look after the tower. They caught an invisible updraft and made a beeline straight to the castle above the clouds.

Xanatos noticed Goliath and the others approached and smiled in satisfaction. He was hoping they would see his new BioClan robots flying about the castle.

He activated his communicator within his Exo-Suit and told his BioClan to land in the courtyard. Each replied by sending a soft beep and did what he said. One by one they landed before him, each folding their wings around their shoulders.

Xanatos removed his helmet and stood before his creations as Goliath and the others landed a short distance away. From the look on Goliath's face he was a little concerned.

"So." David said coolly. "I would guess you've come to inquire about my newest scientific achievements."

Goliath glared at the BioClan and frowned. "Why have you done this, Xanatos? Its not bad enough you don't control us but you have to create abominations like these."

Xanatos tilted his head and looked hurt. "Why, Goliath, I thought you'd be quite interested in my BioClan. "After all they *are* real on the outside. They even have their own intelligence that makes them each individuals."

"Individuals under your control." Lex murmured. "I don't think that's my idea of individualism."

"Our master does not control all our actions." Came a low reply from the blonde haired leader. His voice was low and majestic, with a hint of computer technology. "My name is Bio One, leader of Xanatos's new BioClan gargoyles."

Goliath and the others looked at Bio One and gawked. Never before had one of Xanatos's robots spoken on its own. The other BioClan robots stood at attention, wings spread out wide in a stunning display of power and technology.

"You see, they have their own minds." David said, smiling. "They only need me to give them their orders. Bio One is the only one who has a name, the others haven't chosen one yet."

The lavender leader stepped up to Xanatos and pointed a talon. "It's bad enough you can have anything you want, but this." He said, pointing at the BioClan. "Why do you do these things Xanatos?"

Xanatos grinned and turned away from Goliath, crossing his arms over his armored chest. "I do it because of one simple reason, I have the money and the time."

Goliath growled softly and rejoined his clan. "A word of warning, Xanatos. Keep your new creations under control, we'll be watching."

With that they each leapt off the building and soared off over the city. As always they flew in the opposite direction of the clock tower so they would not to give their home away. Xanatos watched them go and laughed.

A few seconds later Demona appeared from the shadows holding the case she took from MacGregor's lab. David turned and looked at her, smiling as his eyes fell upon the item she was carrying.

"I've been expecting you, my dear." He said softly. "I would assume you've brought all of his work?"

"Yes." Demona said, flashing an evil grin. "Just make sure you use it correctly. My human love was not an idiot. Attempt to twist his work and my wrath will be severe."

To emphasize she let the anger show in her red eyes and sharp fangs. Xanatos lost his smile and took the case from her. 

"Don't worry, my dear." He sighed. "You'll be at my side when I begin the work. After all this was your idea."

She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest and shot him an cold stare. He had known Demona for years, and one thing he'd learned was to be careful around her. He had many defenses, but Demona was very resourceful, not to mention an excellent ally.

* * *

One week later:

Goliath and Elisa stood on the platform outside the clock face preparing to take flight. Hudson and the others told them about what Demona had said and Goliath agreed. Elisa was unsure, saying the Demona could not be trusted. Goliath said she might be right, but he needed to know why she wanted to meet with both him and Elisa.

"I still don't like the idea of you two going off alone to meet Demona." Brooklyn growled. "We can follow you at a distance."

"No." Goliath said, shaking his head. "I understand your concern, but this is something that me and Elisa must do alone.  Do not worry, I will not let my guard down."

Elisa smiled and checked her sidearm. "I'll see that she stays in line. Goliath isn't the only one who's careful around Demona."

Brooklyn  sighed and still did not look convinced, but he could not go against Goliath's orders to remain behind. Hudson shook his head and put a hand on  Goliath's shoulder.

"If ye get into any trouble don't hesitate to leave." He said softly. "There's very little bravery in foolishness, lad."

Goliath smiled. "We'll be careful, old friend. Now we must be off if were to meet Demona at the waterfront."

With that he picked Elisa up in his arms and leapt from the clock tower. His wings filled with a warm updraft carrying them up and over the city. Far below them the buildings scrolled by like an endless tapestry. As always the streets were filled with cars and trucks, honking and moving to and from their destinations.

His mind seemed to wander a bit as he began to remember the first time he had met Demona back in the tenth century. It was within the castle, he was sitting in the courtyard reading a book when she came walking down the cobblestone path.

He looked up from his book and the first thing he noticed was her blazing red hair. She was no stranger to castle Wyvern, he had seen her many times. But now, for some reason, she seemed different to him, almost mystical.

She noticed his staring and stopped, letting her wings drape daintily over her shoulders like a velvety cape. Goliath had never really taken the time to look at the females, a mistake that was being corrected right now.

"Is there something you want, Goliath?" She said softly. He was the only one of this kind that had a name, thanks to the captain of the guard. It was apparent that she knew it, this made him feel out of place.

"I've seen you before." He said, trying to think of something to say. "What are you doing wandering around the castle?"

She chuckled and stepped up to him, smiling sweetly. He noticed her lovely eyes and was mesmerized by them.

"Perhaps I should ask you the same thing." She replied, crossing her arms. "But if you must know I'm bored and was hoping to find somebody to talk to."

Goliath closed the book and set it down in the grass beside him. "Would you care to spend time talking to me?"

She looked at him and nodded. "Why not. Care to walk with me for a while?"

He nodded and got to his feet. She knelt down and picked up the book that he had left in the grass.

"Don't forget this." She said softly, then looked at the cover. "Human poetry, such an odd book to be reading, I must say."

Goliath tilted his head and seemed puzzled. Aside from him he knew no other gargoyle who could read.

"Ah, yes." He replied, smiling. "The human write interesting things. I find them quite interesting, it also helps me pass the time away."

She chuckled and handed him the book. "Well then, Goliath, where shall we walk?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I must admit I'm not accustomed to sharing my time with females. Perhaps a nice walk outside the castle will do?"

The red haired female grinned, baring her white fangs. "Sounds like fun. Let's go."

She led him out of the courtyard and through the front gates to the darkened terrain outside. The moon was half full and provided with enough light to see by. As they started walking neither said anything. Goliath didn't know what to talk about. It was the female who broke the silence.

"How is it you came to have a name, Goliath?"

"The captain of the guard came by it." He answered. "Something about the mythical David and Goliath intrigued him.  Apparently he thought I would make a good Goliath."

She chuckled. "Yes, but did you know that the mythical Goliath was a savage bully who prided himself on making other suffer?"

Goliath looked at the moon and sighed. "Yes. But I am not like him, nor do I ever want to be. Our kind are here to protect the humans It is the gargoyle way."

Upon hearing the humans she frowned and sighed. "The humans. They no not care about our kind. They only want us for our strength and ability of gliding. I do not trust humans."

"Do you have a name?" He asked, just for something to say. She shook her head. "No. Like all humans I'm called by our usual name, Beast."

Goliath looked at her and noticed how lovely she looked in the twilight. It was as if she were an angle, an angel of the night.

"Angel of the night." Goliath said softly.

"What was that?" She asked, her mind tearing away from the humans and back to him. "What did you call me?"

He smiled and looked into her eyes. "Angel of the night. I must say that name suits you quite well."

"Angel of the night." She repeated, placing one talon on her lower lip. "I like the sound of that. I will be your Angel of the Night, and angel for the mighty Goliath."

She continued smiling and took his hand into hers and pulled him onward, towards a small stream not to far away. He followed without hesitation and sat before the bank of the stream. The soft sounds of gurgling water and crickets was soothing to his senses.

Angel lowered her head to the stream and took a few gulps of water. She leaned back and cradled her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her and felt something he had never felt before; the human term would be love.

"You are very beautiful, my Angel." Goliath purred softly, running his talons through her red hair. "A vision of wonder on a clear, warm night."

She sighed softly and ran a single talon up his back, between his wings and over his shoulder. He closed his eyes and took the time to enjoy her playful advances, such feelings were new to him, but he decided that he liked it.

"Goliath!" Elisa said for the third time. "GOLIATH!" 

His mind was suddenly torn from the past and thrown back into the present as he fought to maintain his flight. Elisa's sudden interruption did more than startle him, it disorientated him to the point to where he had no idea where he was.

Elisa gasped as Goliath dipped and swayed, arching his wings to keep him from going into a forced dive. At one point he almost dropped Elisa but luckily for her she had a good hold on his neck. Only his quick thinking and protective instincts aided in keeping his human passenger in his arms.

She screamed as he held a firm grip on the back of her belt. One hand was around his neck with the other flailing about, trying to get a better hold. Goliath noticed a building a short ways off and headed for it. By the time they reached the top Elisa was holding onto him with her dear life.

Even after they had landed she refused to let go, the expression on her face was of utter fear. It took some coaxing from him to convince her that they were no longer in the air. A few moments passed she he slowly slid from his arms onto the rooftop.

"Where was your mind, Goliath?" She yelled. "It was as if you were lost in another dimension! You could have killed us both!"

"Elisa, I'm sorry." He stammered, he too was feeling a little uneasy. "I don't know why I did that. It was as if something took over my mind. Please forgive me, Elisa. Perhaps I should continue on alone, I do not want to put you in that kind of danger again."

"Hah!" She spat, crossing her arms. "You're not going to get off that easily, Goliath. You'll have to drop me if you don't want me to go along. Just promise that you'll keep your mind on your flying."

Goliath felt ashamed of what he had done, never before had he been taken aback by a past vision. Demona was on his mind far too often, more so since she had mated with a human and bore his child. Were humans and Gargoyles so different, with Demona it had been magic, but what about human females and gargoyle males.

He looked down at Elisa for a moment and blinked away the thought. He cared for her very much, but to go to that extreme was beyond his thinking.

"I promise not to drop you again, Elisa." He said, a look of shame on his face. "I do not know why I did that, perhaps it's because of Demona."

Elisa shook her head and thought to herself. "Why does he still think of her. No matter what Demona says I still don't trust her."

"Let's get moving then." She said, allowing Goliath to pick her up again.

In three short bounds he was once again airborne, leaving the safety of the building and gliding on the thermal currents.

It wasn't long after when the smell of salt air and days old fish permeated the air. Goliath could see several large fishing vessels moored at the docks, their decks void of human life. Huge nets and lobster pots adorned both the boats and the wharves. In another section there were oil tankers and other  assorted craft; business and personal alike. In the distance were many long, metal fabricated building that were used for storage and ship maintenance. Goliath read the huge sighed on the front of the buildings. Each building had a large logo in red letter, followed by the a number under it.

When he located pier seven he noticed a very disappointing logo on the front. In an angry voice he murmured the name; Xanacorp International. Goliath gritted his teeth and wondered why Demona had chosen this particular building.

"Perhaps she and Xanantos are working together again" He said to himself. "No matter, I must see what she wants."

He circled the building a few times to make sure that there was nothing out of the ordinary. He could not see any people milling about, nor were there any vehicles. Elisa braced herself as they set down in front of the door.

A soft light hanging over the door provided very little light as Elisa drew her gun and tried the handle. With no resistance the door opened, within was a room about twenty feet square with a metal desk off to one side. On the far wall was another door with a window, soft lighting could be seen on the other side.

Goliath stepped passed Elisa and made his way towards the door, Elisa remained a few steps behind the entire way. He strained his eyes to see through the filthy window and could see somebody moving around in the distance. Wiping away some of the grime he saw Demona standing in the center of a huge empty warehouse.

She was pacing around, looking up at the ceiling as if expecting them to come through one of the skylights. Goliath sighed and pushed on the door, he winced as its hinges creaked in agony.

Demona heard the sound and turned towards the door. She smiled a wicked grin when her eyes fell upon Goliath on the other side. When her eyes noticed Elisa's tiny human legs behind him her smile widened.

She immediately lost her playful smile and took on a serious look. "Hello Goliath. I'm glad you can Elisa could come."

Goliath hesitated for an instant before stepping into the room. Demona noticed at once that Elisa was holding her pistol at ready, it was something she cared little about. Since she was immortal the weapon did not in any way faze her. She was amazed that Elisa did not seem to remember this.

"No matter." She said to herself.

"Why did you wish to see us?" Goliath asked, making sure that Elisa was still safely behind him. "Hudson said you wanted to see both of us."

Demona nodded and turned away so they could not see the expression on her face. The amused look would have given her motives away. She wanted to give them the impression that something was bothering her. Goliath, the softhearted fool, seemed to fall for it completely.

"What is it that's bothering you, Demona?" He asked, a hint of suspicion in his majestic tone. "Does it have to do with that human you loved?"

The mention of James brought out a momentary sadness in her, it was a name that she did not want to think about at the moment. She still loved James deeply, but for what she wanted to do there was no room for sadness.

"Yes." She replied, sounding upset; in which she wasn't.

"Ever since I met James I've seen things in a new light." At one point during their relationship her hatred for humankind had vanished and replaced with love. "I was hoping that you and the others would accept the fact that I've changed and would no longer despise me."

Elisa, upon hearing this, did her best not to laugh her disbelief. Here was a creature who had slaughtered numerous humans throughout her thousand year life and now she was asking Goliath for complete forgiveness. For Demona it sounded comical, after all the past experiences Elisa was not prepared to accept the red haired gargoyles plea for forgiveness.

Goliath crossed his arms and seemed to agree with Elisa's assumptions. "After all the trouble you've caused, I find it hard to believe that you'd change so quickly. I know love is a powerful thing, Demona, but you will have to do more to convince me."

Demona balled her fists in front of her so that they would not notice and gritted her teeth in anger. "I didn't think they'd go for that. No matter, I have him where I want him!"

From her belt she removed a small slim box with two buttons, one red and the other yellow. In one quick motion she pressed the button and heard a deafening howl from behind. Turning she noticed that Goliath was no longer there. Instead of a once solid looking floor was now a deep pit that was used to store fish. A second later a heavy grate fell from the ceiling and landed squarely on top of the opening. Automatic clamps snapped closed, trapping whatever was contained within the pit.

Elisa reacted instantly and started shooting at Demona. In all her years she had learned many tricks and one of them was avoiding bullets. She dove out of the way and lunged at the human with unbelievable speed and accuracy. In seconds Elisa was pinned to the floor, her gun skittered away from her hand.

Goliath growled angrily and clawed his way to the steel grate. He wrapped his hands around it and pushed with all his might, to his amazement it didn't budge an inch. When he tried to bend the bars he was hit with a powerful electric shock that sent him plummeting back to the bottom of the pit.

No matter how many times he tried he was unable to break through the walls, nor the steel grating above. Overhead he could hear Elisa and Demona wrestling, Goliath was angry that he had been so easily fooled. For one brief moment he found himself questioning his abilities at being the gargoyles leader. It was he who agreed to do this.

What angered him most was that he was unable to help Elisa. He knew Demona would be able to take his human companion without much trouble.

Demona knew this herself, but for her plan to work she needed to let Elisa escape. That way she could bring the others. Once that was done the real fun would begin.

Elisa tried in vain to push Demona from her, but the gargoyle was far too strong for her human muscles. Then, for one brief instant she felt Demona loosed her grip, possibly because of Goliath's attempts at escaping.

Without questioning she wiggled one leg free and planted her foot squarely on Demona's abdomen and pushed with all her might.

Demona grunted in pain as her winged form went flying backward. Elisa rolled and got quickly to her feet and tried to lung for her gun. It was almost in her hand when a red laser struck the tiny weapon, turning it to a smoldering pile of melted metal. 

Demona fired again, this time she made sure the her shot went dangerously close to hitting the human. Killing her now would be easy, but she did not want to kill her. For her plan to work she needed Elisa to live....

At least for the time being.

The window in which Elisa had squirmed through did little to maintain the cleanliness of her clothing. As her tumbled to the ground several red streaks of compressed particles burned through the glass above her.

Elisa wanted to look back inside but figured doing so would not be very healthy. What she needed to do was get the others.

Little did she know that her intentions were just what Demona wanted her to do. She wanted to go back inside, to see if she could help Goliath escape but she needed to use common sense.

What could she possibly do, the pit in which Goliath was held could not be affected by the lavender gargoyle. If he was unable to get out, what would she be able to do. Her best bet was to get the others.

Running down the pier she emerged onto a semi-busy sidewalk and hailed a cab. By the time one seemed to notice that she needed a ride it seemed like hours had passed. She grumbled angrily at the driver and told him to drive her to the police station. When the cabby asked why she flashed her badge and threatened to book him for holding up an officer.

The man gunned the engine and sped down the street, passing several cars and trucks. Elisa felt like arresting the man for driving in such a manner but more pressing matters needed to be taken care of first.

* * *

Professor Scott was hovering over the large piece of sandstone, studying the faint symbols etched into its surface. The ancient piece of history sat on his large work table, surrounded by texts and journals. Many were open and contained many underlines passages and notes, mostly concerning Egyptian script.

Picking up a magnifying glass he held it over a particularly difficult section and made another attempt to read it. The writing was so faint that it had taken hours just to find out which manner of writing it was done in.

Sighing, he sat back and rubbed his temples in frustration. For once he was sorry he was so well known in the archaeological world. He had tackled many such tablets, but none could compare to this one. At first he was pleased that the museum curator asked him to work on it.

At his usual fee of thirty thousand dollars, or course, which in his line of work was quite inexpensive. Perhaps he should consider rising his rates, especially when it came to tablets of this degree.

"What am I overlooking?" He said silently as he glanced at one of his older notebooks. "It's definitely Egyptian, but what is it talking about?"

The first three parts were easy, they spoke of a Pharaoh Manatuka which lived around the same time period as Tutankahmun. Part four spoke of the history of the ancient king. Like King Tut he too controlled a rather large area of desert and it spoke of the rise and fall of his empire.

The king was laid to rest in a tomb about fifty miles southeast of the Valley of the Kings but the starting point was not to be found. Scott figured that the fifth area said where the starting point was, but unlike the rest of the tablet it was riddled.

And with it being so warn and faint it made it twice as hard to decipher.

"Perhaps you should give it a rest for tonight, sir?" Came Jacob's voice as he entered the room carrying a tray. "I've brought you some Pepsi and maple cookies. Madam Venus told me that she would be outside by the river if you needed her."

Scott nodded and stepped away from the table. He took the glass and drank the ice cold contence. Grabbing a few cookies he told Jacob to set the tray down on the computer desk  and to take the rest of the evening off.

"Jacob..." He said before the butler could leave. "Where is Mistra?"

"She's taking her evening nap, sir." He replied, smiling. "Would you like me to bring her in here for you?"

"No." Scott answered, shaking his head. "Let her sleep." 

The old man bowed slightly and left the same way he came. He was about to tackle the tablet again when he heard Venus somewhere down the hall. She said something to Jacob and could be heard approaching the workshop.

When he turned he noticed his gargoyle bride step into the room carrying a small, wet bundle in her arms. It wasn't hard to see that it was a tiny black puppy, and from the looks of it she found it by the river.

"Who would do this to a poor dog?" Venus said angrily as she did her best to confront the animal. "To leave such a tiny thing in the river."

"Sometimes when a person no longer wants an animal they try to get rid of it." Scott said sadly. "Most of the tine they simply abandon the poor creature. In that puppy's case the owner probably tried to drown it.

"No doubt it was unwanted, possibly born unexpectedly." He     explained. "Instead of doing the humane thing of having it put to sleep, the person simply tossed it into the river."

Venus growled softly and gritted her teeth in anger. "That's disgusting! To make such drastic measures out on such an innocent thing. Can we keep her?"

Scott bowed his head and tried his best not to chuckle. He wasn't about to refuse her, but he had to think of Mistra and all the other things that came with owning a dog. He cold easily afford the creature, but it would be Jacob who would end up taking care of it most of the time.

"Then again." He said to himself. "It would be interesting to see just how Venus would do taking care of it. She was very good at such things, loving and always devoted in doing what she sets her mind to." Again, to himself.

"On one condition." He said, trying not to smile. "She will be your responsibly, not mine or Jacob's. It'll be up to you to care, feed and keep the dog tidy. Are you willing to do this on your own, my love?"

Venus nodded her head without question and hugged the puppy warmly. It was then that Jacob walked in carrying some towels and one of Mistra's baby bottles; half filled with milk. Jacob placed a towel on the floor and Venus put the black puppy on it and started to dry it off.

Scott smiled and knelt down to take a better look at the dog himself. She had an odd white patch on her chest, and more white on her back paws. He guessed that it was at least part Labrador, the other half was unknown.

The tiny puppy shivered under the blanket and Venus continued to rub the dog with the soft towel. Once it was mostly dry she took the bottle and held it to the dog's mouth. It took it without question and began to drink the milk.

The professor smiled and knew that Venus would take care of the dog. Smiling he got to his feet and was about to work on the tablet again when the phone rang. Jacob was about to answer it but Scott said he'd get it instead.

"Hello?" He said, putting the phone to the side of his head.

"Am I addressing Professor Mercure?" Came a soft, gentle voice.

"Yes." He replied. "Who might I ask is calling?"

The person on the other end cleared his throat before speaking. "This is the assistant curator of the Spanish Museum of Antiquities. The owner has asked me if you're available to work on some ancient Spanish manuscripts that were unearthed a month ago?"

Scott sighed softly as he stared at the tablet. He would have preferred to work on some Spanish scrolls, they were much easier than Egyptian sandstone. Unfortunately he could only work on one project at a time.

"I'm already working on a particularly difficult project." He said sadly. "I would be unable to work on them for at least a month, perhaps longer."

The person on the other end hesitated for a moment before speaking in Spanish to somebody else who much have been there. 

The other person answered back, in Spanish, and the person Scott had been talking too switched to English.

"The curator said that would be fine. Would you be willing to undertake the job?"

Scott smiled and wondered how somebody could wait so long, but if they were willing to wait and pay his fee, then why not.

"Very well." Scott answered, grabbing a notebook next to the phone. "My usual fee is thirty thousand dollars, American. It can be paid upon my finishing the work."

His answer seemed to take the person by surprise. "That is not very much, professor, and waiting until completion before getting paid. Your reputation is by far the best we've found. We can send the scrolls by personal messenger."

The man gave the name of the messenger and said that he would be there in about a week with the scrolls. Scott took the information down in the notebook and said that there would be somebody here to sign for them.

Scott said his farewell and hung up the phone. He stepped away from the phone and went back to his work on the tablet.

"I'm missing something on this damn tablet, but I don't know what." He said to nobody in particular.

Venus handed the puppy to Jacob and said to make a bed for her in their room. The butler nodded and carried the little bundle away. She stepped up behind Scott and gazed down at what her love was looking at.

She had a basic idea of what Scott was working on, mostly because of the Indiana Jones movie she had watched the other night. Venus could not understand why Scott wanted to know so much about the past. It was his job, but in her opinion the past was the past, it already happened so why study it?

Without knowing why she placed her hand on the tablet and tried to make out the area he was studying. She felt a little odd at first when her vision became blurred, but returned to normal a second later. When she looked at the spot again she noticed that the faint words were quite clear to her.

"Twenty miles southeast of the Valley." She said to the professor.

Scott blinked and turned to looks at her. "Huh?"

Venus smiles and patted his shoulder. "The tablet says that the starting point to find the hidden tomb is two miles southeast of the Valley."

The professor shook his head and stared at the faint lettering and could not understand how she thought that. Even when he used his magnifier he was unable to make out the script. "How do you know that, my love?"

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes to clear away the slight blur that had formed in them again. When she looked at the area again all she could see as flat sandstone.

"I..." She hesitated before answering. "I don't know, when I touched the tablet I saw what was written in that strange part. I can't see it anymore." Pausing again she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Sometimes being a sorceress can be a pain in the backside."

Scott looked at her for a moment and hugged very tightly, a feeling of pride and admiration for his beloved wife. 

"You've done is seconds what I've been slaving over for days!" He said happily. "You have no idea how happy I am, my love!"

Venus smiled warmly and returned the hug. "Does that mean I'm going to make a good archeologist, like you?"

He leaned back and stared into her brown eyes and kissed her softly. "Venus, my dear, you are going to be a wonderful archeologist. Thanks to you I can finish this job and start on the new one next week."

She kissed him softly and pulled away. "I have to go check on the puppy, my love. Do you need me for anything else?"

Scott smirked and scratched an invisible itch on his arm. "Not right at the moment. Will you be free later on this evening?" He added with a sly smile.

Venus gave him a particular look and smiled. "Aren't I always, my love?"

They exchanged loving smiles before Venus stepped out of the room. She made her way to the kitchen where Jacob was inspecting the dog. When she asked what he was doing he said that he found an odd insect on it and was looking for others.

"Mustn't have critters running loose about the house, madam Venus." Jacob said as he ran his fingers through the dog's short, black fur. "She should have a shampoo right away. Would you like me to do it?"

She shook her head and remembered what Scott had said to her. "I think I can handle it Jacob. Thank you for offering, though. If you would, please check in on Mistra."

The old butler nodded his head and handed the puppy to her and took his leave. She looked into the dog's tiny eyes and smiled.

"I promise to take very good care of you, little one. Not like the one who left you to die in the river!" She added in a harsh voice.

The dog whined softly and did its best to make itself comfortable in Venus's arms. She placed it on the counter next to the sink and ran the water until it was warm, but not too hot. The last thing she wanted to do was injure the little dog. 

At first the pup didn't like the water, but once Venus started rubbing soap on the dog's fur it seemed to calm down. She looked down at the wet, soap covered dog and smiled.

"Now we really have a complete family." She said to herself, remembering all the television shows she had seen.. "A loving husband, a daughter with a butler that is like a grandfather and a little dog."

She felt warm inside knowing that all these things were made possible by the human she had married. Sighing softly she continued her work on washing the dog.

* * *

Elisa was more furious than ever at the time it took to reach the police station. Even worse was trying as best she could not to alarm anybody else at the station as she hurried as best she could to the clock tower. As she climbed the steps into the tower itself she was so out of breath that the other knew something was wrong.

Broadway didn't even bother to turn the stove off as he hurried to help Elisa. Hudson and the others became immediately concerned and did not need ask to ask that something was wrong. Since she had returned in such a state, without Goliath, they had reason to be alarmed.

When she told them what had happened Brooklyn growled angrily. "I knew that witch couldn't be trusted! I knew it... I *knew* it!"

Hudson unfolded his wings and led the others up the steps to the clock face. Broadway picked Elisa up and followed after the others. Elisa told Broadway where to go and the others followed without question. It didn't take very long to reach the warehouse, but Elisa knew that almost an hour had passed since their first encounter with Demona.

Brooklyn landed on the roof and gazed angrily through a skylight. The others did the same and they all saw Demona standing before Goliath. She had apparently drugged him and he was now held in a crucified position a few feet away from her.

They were about to smash through the skylight when Demona looked up and smiled evilly.

"Come!" She said aloud. "Come down and join the party! You should find this quite entertaining!"

It was then they noticed that she had a large laser pointed directly at Goliath's chest. From that range there was little hope of her missing, or of him surviving. Hudson growled and leapt through the skylight, shattering the glass into a million fragments. The others followed suite and one by one stood before their captive leader, and the gargoyle who was holding him.

"Welcome, former clan members." Demona said wickedly. "I'm soooooooo glad you finally decided to show up."

Brooklyn was about to do something when Demona shoved the laser weapon into Goliath chest and toyed with the trigger. Whatever he had in mind her display of retaliation convinced him otherwise.

"Now." She said coolly. "Why don't you all have a seat?"

They looked at each other strangely and could not find anything amusing in Demona's polite suggestion. Hudson was going to say something when the ground opened up from under them. Each found themselves contained in individuals pits lines with bars. Each bellowed their frustration and found that they were unable to escape. Even Elisa as contained in a pit this time. Demona laughed wickedly and stepped over to a large control panel with several switches. She pressed one and watched in amusement as each cage rose from the pit containing a single captive that was none to happy.

She watched as each tried in vain to tear and bend the bars, but she had taken precautions so that her captives would be unable to escape. Grinning she stepped up to them and said that the cages were not steel, but titanium.

"Try as you may, you will not be able to escape." She explained. "How sit back and watch the entertainment."

"What are ye talking about lass?" Hudson said angrily. "Why go through so much trouble to capture us like this?"

Demona made herself look hurt and covered her chest in a mock gesture of sadness. "Can't a girl have some fun?"

Brooklyn shot her an angry look. "Your idea of fun is seeing other suffer. As always you're sick, Demona. So why isn't Goliath in a cage as well?"

"Ah." She purred, turning her attention to Goliath who was starting to awaken. "The reason is quite simple, even for you. I said I would provide entertainment, so your going to watch as I take care of Goliath... Once, and for all!"

The others grappled with their cages with a stunning display of anger, but did little more than make a great deal of noise. Demona laughed heartily and walked back over to the how semi aware Goliath.

He was mumbling something under his breath and trying to shake the cobwebs from his mind. The last thing he could remember  was being captured by Demona and held in a pit. Soon after Elisa had apparently escaped she used a tranquilizer dart to render him out cold. As his vision cleared he found that he was securely fastened in a standing position. When he tried to break the bonds he found that he was still very weak from the sedative.

Sighing softly he looked at what was in front of him and became angry. His clan members were being held in cages, as was Elisa. Demona apparently heard him and approached, a wicked grin on her face.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd ever come around, Goliath." She hissed. "I would have been very upset if I didn't get the chance to kill you myself!"

Goliath fought against the chains again and let his anger show in his white glowing eyes. "Demona you are a pathetic excuse for a gargoyle and have no place with us."

Demona snarled and shoved the butt of her gun into his stomach. The sharp pain made him grunt loudly and doubled over, as best his bonds would allow. She laughed sadistically at his pain and put the gun down a few feet away.

"Using a laser would be far too easy, Goliath. I shall whet my talons with your blood!"  She laughed out loud so the others could hear.

Hissing, she slashed out at his face, cutting four deep gashes on the side of his face. He yelled in pain as blood flowed smoothly down his face and neck. Smiling she punched him squarely in the chest and raking him with her talons again. Like his face he now had four red streaks on his chest running from side to side.

"Why don't you release his bonds and see how well you do, Demona?" Elisa said in a mock gesture.  Demona backed away for an instant and seemed to look him over. "Why not? I have no need of restraints to defeat the likes of him."

She removed a small control panel from her belt and pressed one of the buttons. An instant later the bonds released Goliath, his body crumbled to the floor in a heap.

"Come, Goliath." Demona said calmly. "I've released you, do what your human love says and fight me."

Goliath slowly got to his feet and steadied himself on the device that had once held him. His head was still swimming and he felt as if his strength was completely gone. Demona waited another second before jumping into the air with a roundhouse kick.

As her foot impacted on the side of his head the force sent him spinning sideways. A thin trail of blood slipped from the corner of his mouth. A second later he crumbled to the floor, soft moans escaping his mouth.

She grinned and used her tail she rolled him onto his back so that he was looking up at her. To show her dominance over him she rested her foot on his chest and stared at him. She wanted to laugh at how Goliath looked, fallen and broken under her like the worm he was.

Demona was very pleased with herself as she looked at the others. They looked at Goliath with concern and with hatred for her.

"Some leader." She said to them, pointing down at Goliath form. "If I were in charge we would not have to hide from the humans. We could take our rightful places as the superior race that we are."

Brooklyn looked at her and hissed his hatred. "Demona, of you were in charge I would have cut my own throat to save me the humiliation of following you!"

"As always ye don't fight fair!" Hudson said, knowing that Goliath was unable to fight back. "Try takin' one of us who can give you a better fight?"

She turned to face him and frowned. "Do you think I'm that stupid, Hudson? No, for years I've been wanting to get my revenge on Goliath. I don't blame you for hating me, after following Goliath leadership I can understand. You were misguided into thinking that the humans could be trusted."

"You should hear yourself, Demona." Elisa said angrily. "It's as if you're the best thing to even happen to this time. You're nothing but an evil, self centered bitch who lives on making others suffer."

Demona lifted her foot from Goliath and stormed over to Elisa's cage. Elisa thought for sure Demona would rip her to shreds, but to her amazement it was just the opposite. 

"That's the nicest thing you've even said to me, detective Maza." She said softly, letting her happiness show with a fanged smile. "But it will not help you or Goliath. Now I start having some real fun!"

The others didn't say a word when Goliath got to his feet and seemed to regain some of his strength. As Demona turned to deal with him again she was not prepared for his rush attack. His impact sent them both tumbling to the ground, growling and clawing at each other.

Goliath was still under the effects of the drug and did little to subdue Demona. What he got were several more gashes and bites on his arms, chest and face. To rid herself of his weight she kneed him in the stomach. When he was momentarily out of breath she interlaced her fingers into one fist and slammed it into his side.

He grunted in pain as his body tumbled back into a position where upon he was lying on his back. His lungs cried out for air but he felt as if his ribs were suffocating him, he would not be surprised if several of them were broken. It was the first time he felt completely helpless in what to do. He did not have the strength to fight back, nor could the others of his clan help.

Goliath, the leader of the gargoyles, knew his chances were not very good. Demona was just playing with him, this much he knew, but eventually she would get serious. Every part of him cried out in pain, blood covered several areas of his body.

Demona laughed sadistically and stepped back to gloat at what she had done to Goliath. He was fallen and broken, she could kill him quite easily but she was having way too much fun with him.

Smiling wickedly she stepped up to Goliath and kicked him in his side. Her foot talons sunk into his flesh with a sickening sound. With whatever strength Goliath had left he bellowed in extreme pain as his side was torn open.

The others screamed and snarled their surprise, Elisa was already in tears. Demona enjoyed hearing their pitiful cries and felt tears running down her face as she continued laughing. 

When she noticed Elisa crying she approached her and knelt before her broken form. Elisa looked into Demona`s face with a hatred that would probably raise the dead.

"So..." Demona said softly, trying to control her laughter.

"How does it feel knowing the one you love is about to die?"

Elisa gritted her teeth and wished she had her gun. Demona was immortal, but it would have been great to fill her full of holes. All she was able to do was remained captured while Demona slowly beat the life of Goliath.

"Is this what this is all about?" Elisa said softly. "Just because James was killed you feel that nobody else has the right to love another?"

Demona growled and slapped her through the cage. The red mark forming on Elisa's cheek stung painfully.

"You're not *fit* to mention his name!" Demona growled. "It's all the humans fault that he was killed! Just like before Goliath was a fool to trust your kind."

"He died saving you, Demona." Broadway said. "Doesn't that count for anything, and what about your daughter?"

"Aye, lass?" Hudson growled, watching as Goliath slowly got to his feet again. "MacGregor was a human and ye loved him. Why take your pain out on Goliath?"

Demona hissed and let the anger show in her red eyes. "James was *not* a human, don't you ever call him that! He was far better than anybody I'd ever met and he understood me."

By this time there were tears rolling down her cheek again. Only this time they were not of pleasure, but of sadness as her former love was mentioned. She was also unaware that Goliath was walking towards her discarded laser weapon.

For an instant Demona noticed Hudson's eyes look behind her and she spin around angrily. When she saw him heading towards the weapon she screamed and lunged. The force of her body blow sent him staggering away.

"So." She said softly, reaching for the laser. "You want to finished this now... So be it!"

She slowly lifted the weapon to her shoulder and peered through the targeting scope. A thermal image of Goliath could be seen in the yellow cross-hairs. When the weapon beeped that it was targeted she laughed and pulled the trigger.

The others screamed in terror as a thin stream of laser shot from the muzzle. Its deadly beam struck Goliath's shoulder and passed through his skin. He screamed in pain and clutched at his wounded shoulder.

Demona snickered and made the comment that her aim was not as good as it used to be. She was glad that her mind was distracted from James, it was interfering with her fun. 

"Now it ends, Goliath!" She hissed angrily. "After all these years of waiting my vengeance on you will be fulfilled!" 

Goliath sucked in a painful breath and looked as if he was about to pass out.

"To think I loved you once." He said painfully. "I had hoped that one day you would accept human kind. Love is what life is all about, Demona, now I understand why you're so heartless."

Demona lowered the rifle and looked at him in amazement. She had experienced love, first with him and then with James. In her opinion James was far better than Goliath had ever been.

"Perhaps." She said softly, acting as if she was thinking of changing her mind. "But if you'd really like to know. James was a better lover than you could have ever been!"

Goliath looked at her in utter fascination, her comment had struck something deep within. She had chosen a human over him and had the nerve to say it to his face.

Growling angrily he lunged as best he could towards her, his talons eager for her throat. She smiled and pulled the trigger again, this time from her waist.

He screamed at the searing pain in his right side making him step back a few feet. Demona waved the muzzle around slightly and kept pulling the trigger. Each time the red beam would strike a part of Goliath.

Even after twelve strikes he remained standing, but not by much.

"What does it take to keep you down?" Demona screamed at the top of her lungs. "DIE ALREADY!"

Bringing the weapon to her shoulder one last time she used the scope and targeted on his chest. The others gasped in terror as she pulled the trigger. In the span of a breath the beam hit Goliath squarely in the chest.

The deadly steam of compressed particles passed struck his chest and emerged between his wings. He let out one last scream as his body fell backwards.

Demona grinned with pleasure when he didn't get up again. Lowering the weapon she stood next to him and looked down at his still form. He wasn't dead yet, but from the look in his eyes it wouldn't be long. She decided to let him go slowly, savoring her long awaited revenge.

"Think of it as a release from your miserable life." She said softly, kneeling next to his head.

With a shaking hand he reached up and grabber her top. "At least I died knowing I had an honorable clan. You had nothing but loneliness."

She slapped his hand away and shook her head. "Yeah, sure Goliath, a philosopher to the very end. How touching."

Shaking her head she stepped before the others and held out her arms. "You can escape his fate by agreeing to join me."

The assortment of curses and rejections she got was enough to make her laugh. It was a stupid thing to do, she knew, but it never hurts to ask.

"Very well." She hissed, hoisting the laser. "Then if you won't join me you're of no use to anybody!"

They watched as she backed away and pointed the last at Hudson, who was first in line. Just as she was about to pull the trigger the wall behind her erupted in a fiery explosion. Hissing angrily she turned to see four Steel Clan robots hovering in the opening.

She raised her weapon and started to fire at the robots. One was not quite fast enough as the laser struck his chest plate. It sputtered for a second before crashing to the ground.

The remaining three robots entered the warehouse followed by another. It didn't take much to know it was Xanatos himself. His trademark red and silver Exo-suit was unmistakable.

"Not so fast, Demona!" He said, his voice sounding slightly metallic through the helmet. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."

Demona waved her fist angrily at Xanatos. "This is not your concern, Xanatos!"

"Let's just say I don't approve of your motives." He said as his forearm laser emerged from its cradle.

As if on cue the three Steel Clan robots pointed their own lasers in her direction. Demona gritted her teeth and growled angrily at the interruption.

"No matter!" She hissed her reply. "I've had my revenge and nothing can save Goliath now!"

Screaming at the top of her lungs she bounded onto Lex`s cage and leapt into the air. She sunk hers talons into the wall and made her way to one of the above skylights. Smashing the glass with her fist she pulled herself through and out of sight. 

Xanatos ordered his robots to release the gargoyles while he helped Elisa. Using his laser, her set it for a narrow beam and melted the lock. Elisa did not wait for him to open the door, she shoved it herself and ran to Goliath. As the others were released they too went to Goliath. They could tell from the expression on Elisa`s face that it was not good.

Goliath was having a hard time breathing and blood was trickling from dozens of wounds. Hudson knelt by their fallen leader and placed his hand under Goliath's head. Goliath groaned in pain and turned to look at Elisa, a strange smile on his pain riddled face.

"Demona has finally beaten me." He said softly, trying not to let his pain show. "It was my fault, I should not have trusted her."

Elisa shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye. "It's all going to be fine now. When the sun comes up you'll turn to stone and heal."

Swallowing hard, Goliath closed his eyes for a moment before speaking again.

"Ah, yes... The sun, I can feel how warm it is." He whispered. "So soft and inviting. Can't you see it?"

"Goliath!" Elisa said, trying to pull his attention back to reality. "Stay with me, you can fight this... Please, Goliath, don't leave me!"

He was about to say something when his body flinched and began relaxed. The other gargoyles looked at his silent form and hung their heads in sorrow. Brooklyn, Broadway and Lexington tried not to cry but it was unavoidable. Even Hudson wasn't able to fight the sadness that overcame him.

But Elisa, the very human who had befriended the large lavender gargoyle, was devastated. She screamed and wrapped her arms around his neck and begged him to come back.

Through all this Xanatos stood back and watched as they mourned their loss. Sighing softly he stepped up to them and removed his helmet so he could address the directly.

"I'm sorry I was unable to get here in time." He said as Hudson lifted his head. "I didn't know Demona's motivations until it was too late."

Brooklyn wiped his nose and glared at the billionaire. "Just how much did you know, Xanatos?"

David held up his arms and shook his head. "You must trust me when I say I did not know about this. Demona's brought this warehouse from a few months ago. As for her reasons, I have no idea."

From somewhere outside came the sounds of sirens. Xanatos turned to face the distant noise and shook his head.

"The police are coming." He said, pointing to the skylight. "I would suggest that you all leave before they get here."

Elisa looked up from Goliath's dead form and frowned. "What about Goliath? Are we going to just leave him here?"

"Nay!" Hudson said angrily. "We'll take him back to the clock tower."

"And do what?" Xanatos added. "Perhaps I should take him myself? Rest assured he will be treated with respect."

Brooklyn balled his fists and pointed a bony talon in Xanatos's face. "Do you think we're stupid? If you think we're going to let you take him you're out of your mind!"

By this time the sirens had grown in volume and could now be heard outside the building. Hudson and the others looked at the door and got very angry.

"If you're going to get out of there before the police enter then I suggest you leave now." Xanatos said in a worried tone. "I will take Goliath, you can come to the castle tomorrow night and get him."

The gargoyles looked at each other for a moment and nodded their head. They did not want the human to take their leader but common sense needed to be taken.

"If he's not turned over to us tomorrow night." Hudson said angrily, his eyes glowing white. "Then ye will no longer have to search fer immortality!"

David nodded his head and pointed to the skylight. They took another look at Goliath before leaping into the air. Elisa tried to push Brooklyn away when he picked her up but the gargoyle would not let her go.

She stopped fighting and buried her head in his shoulder as they ascended to the roof. Xanatos watched as each of them climbed through the skylight and vanished.

He ordered his robots to pick up the body and to return to the castle. The robots responded without question and carried Goliath up and out of the building. Xanatos extended his metallic wings and followed a second later.

Part 5: "Virtual Nightmare"

Xanatos swept his eyes around as scanners mounted in the lenses of his helmet scrutinized his surroundings.

He simultaneously kept a wary eye out to make sure the gargoyles were not following him, while carefully observing his Steel Clan robots. They hovered for a moment before touching down on the stone floor, delicately holding Xanatos' prize possession in their mechanical arms.

As David landed, Owen stepped out from the main entrance and approached his employer.  The majordomo saw the body and adjusted his glasses.  Xanatos smiled.

"Take that down to sub-level twenty-one," he instructed succinctly, and the automatons responded immediately to his vocal commands, disappearing into Castle Wyvern carrying the corpse.

Owen watched as the Steel Clan followed their orders and vanished into the castle.

"I would guess all went according to plan, Mr.  Xanatos?" Owen remarked as the billionaire removed his helmet.

"Quite well indeed, Owen," the bearded man replied, sounding proud. "Is the mastermind of our little project in the lab?"

Owen nodded his head and stuck both hands in his pockets. Indeed, sir. I must say she was starting to get quite impatient."

"Yes, well, she's never been very patient," Xanatos remarked as he walked toward the castle.  "You'd think she'd learn a skill like that after one thousand years."

Xanatos stopped at one point and removed the rest of his power-armor exo-frame.  With that done they made their way to the central elevator.

After entering the central elevator and passing several floors, they stepped out and approached a second elevator.  This one was much different than the first; it was small and heavily armored, hidden in a recessed part of the castle's stone.  The two men got in and the thick steely doors snapped hungrily shut behind them.

Xanatos removed a key from his pocket and inserted it into a thin slot just above the huge panel of floor buttons.  With a quick turn a new panel with a numeric keypad appeared just above the keyhole, sliding out of the metal and flipping around.  He punched in twenty-one and turned the key in the opposite direction.

The elevator began moving down at an accelerated rate that was not normal for an elevator outside of "Speed."  Xanatos watched as the digital readout above the doors rapidly counted down.  When the counter hit level one, the color changed from red to yellow; the numbers then began to increase once more.  When it hit fifteen the elevator began to slow down, hydraulics hissing, before finally stopping at "Sub-Level 21."

They exited the elevator into a well-lit hallway with several doors.  At the entrance to the elevator stood two uniformed guards carrying particle rifles.  Each saluted their employer as he and Owen passed by.  A sign hanging from the ceiling embossed with red lettering, read:

SUB-LEVEL 21:

GENETIC ENGINEERING (BIO-MECHANICAL AREA)

** RESTRICTED TO LEVEL 20 CLEARANCE AND ABOVE **

Owen followed Xanatos as they continued down the long hallway, passing several doors.  As they walked a uniformed technician emerged from one of the door and nearly collided with them.  When the scientist realized who had gotten in his way he became very apologetic, eyes widening.

"I'm so sorry, Mr.  Xanatos," he said softly, flustered.  "I didn't see you standing there."

David looked at the man's name tag and smiled.  He knew this particular man, one of his newer employees, Daniel Straussmore.

The man was stationed in the genetic and bio-mechanical areas of the complex.  He was quite young, but very good in his work; few people were accepted to be employed by the high standards of Xanatos Enterprises, and far fewer were allowed into the secret sub-levels of the Eyrie Building.  Straussmore was far from average, however; his genetic engineering skills were remarkably high, but not so impressive as some of the other geneticists'.

What made this naive young doctor so special was that genetics was only one of his fields: his work in robotics was equally developed.  How many people could clone a gargoyle and then turn around and help reconstruct Coyote without missing a beat?

Though shielded a bit from the outside world, Straussmore was many levels above genius.

"Where were you heading off to in such a hurry?" the rich man asked.

"Doctor Sevarious needs me in Section seventeen," the genetic engineer replied at once.  "He wants me to make the final checks on our wolf-splicing project."

"Very well, Mr. Straussmore." Xanatos nodded his approval. "I won't keep you from your duties any longer."

The doctor nodded and hurried off down the hall toward the elevator, anxious to get out of the spotlight.  Xanatos shook his head, smiling in a bemused manner, and continued on.

At the end of the hall was a set of double doors.  Painted on the front was a large red sign:

Bioengineering (MAIN LAB)

Section 23 - Area RESTRICTED!

*************************************

* Unauthorized entry will result in *

*       criminal punishment!        *

*************************************

He pushed on one of the doors and stepped inside with Owen. Three of the four walls were adorned with hi-tech computer systems which hummed softly, sending bursts of binomial coding to one another in spurts of electrons and photons. They all seemed to be active and displayed all sorts of data output and graphics images, ranging from simple CGI photographs to complicated military-style targeting readouts.  Extending from the ceiling was an overhanging scanning device, studded with probes and environmental interface devices.  Below the spider-like mechanical limb was a polished steel table that was used for placing the subject.

The three Steel Clan robots who had carried Goliath's body down were standing a few feet away.  In their metallic arms was the subject; what was left of the gargoyle's leader.  Xanatos ordered the robots to put the corpse on the table.  "Let's see what we've got here."

With little ease they lifted the huge mass and deposited it on the surface, servomotors whining ever so slightly.  Goliath's body struck the metal surface with a sickening wet *splat.*  Dark red blood started to pool on the surface and trickle thickly off the edge as the robots left the room.

As the doors started to close, another form burst into the room.  Demona did not look very happy when she saw Xanatos standing next to the table, her scarlet eyes blazing.

"It's about time you got here!" she spat angrily, talking so that her fangs were widely displayed.  "I do *not* like to be kept waiting!"

Xanatos smiled and shook his head.  "For the plan to work I needed to make sure the gargoyles could trust me."

Demona's laugh sounded more like disgusted spit than a humorous chuckle.  "So, how do you like my handiwork?"

David nodded to Owen, who stepped over to one of the computers.  As his five remaining fingers began playing on the keyboard, the scanning device hummed to life.  It made one slow pass over Goliath's body and back again, insectile limbs extending, prodding, absorbing information.

A color image of Goliath appeared on the computer screen, fully rendered and rotating as a three-dimensional picture. Status displays and pointers leapt to life and displayed a vast amount of myriad data.  Xanatos and Demona watched as it examined its observations before giving its conclusion.

SCAN COMPLETED ...

FINAL RESULT: *** NONFUNCTIONAL ***

ALL INTERNAL SYSTEMS DAMAGED.  REPAIR SYSTEM NOT FOUND, SUBJECT

HAS 0.0% CHANCE OF REACTIVATING..

END SCAN ...FINAL OUTPUT COMPLETED ...

SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN

Demona grinned wickedly and raked Goliath's body one more time, laughing as she rent flesh

"Those stupid fools really thought I killed him!" she laughed with sadistic joy, licking the reddish blackness from her talons.

Xanatos crossed his arms and looked at the body.  "Well, the data you provided me with helped a great deal.  MacGregor was a true genius and this new BioClan robot was far better than the last ones."

"More lifelike, with actual organic musculature instead of just cloned skin," she remarked.  "This android was much more convincing than your other cyborg robots.  But what of the *real* Goliath?"

Xanatos smiled and led them out of the lab and into another down the hall.   He punched rapidly on the access panel to open the armored door and stood aside.  "Ladies first," he smiled.

Demona glared.  Inside the second laboratory was a large tank with a small portal on the door.  David pointed to the small window and Demona peered inside with interest.

Floating in a semi-clear liquid was Goliath.  Tubes and other umbilicals extended from his body into the side of the tank.  He looked quite odd dressed in a Virtual Reality body suit.  David stepped over to a small computer connected to the tank and examined the screen.

"All his body functions are normal," he replied before anyone could ask.  "The link worked flawlessly.  Physical stimulus was transmitted from the android to Goliath, and then his reactions were sent back, creating the illusion of an actual battle between the two of you, even though you were miles apart.

The transmission lag could be measured in thousandths of a second.  According to the monitor he really thought he was fighting you.  The illusion was perfect for all involved."

"So does he know that he's supposed to be dead?" Demona asked.

"And what about all the pain he felt?"

Xanatos smiled and shook his head.  "The auto injectors and nervous stimulators provided the pain you caused the robot to be relayed back to him.  The same went for when he finally 'died.' "Drugs have an amazing effect on the body when used in the right dosages," he continued explaining.  "We can view everything he saw from here."

Demona nodded and told him to start the playback.  Xanatos did what she asked and started the image playback.  They saw everything that Goliath saw, via his VR helmet, projected above them as a wrap-around holographic display.  Demona laughed each time she struck him, watching as his vision shifted from side to side.

A small window in the upper left-hand 'corner' of the hologram displayed the pain Goliath was feeling by means of an oscillating color-coded graph.  It ranged from soreness to agonizing and everything in between.  Every sound and strike that Goliath had heard, they were hearing now.

When it was finished, they watched his final scene before the image faded to black.  Demona laughed softly as Xanatos returned the computer to its normal scanning mode, dispersing the aerial display.

"Ahem," Owen said, getting Xanatos' attention.  "What are you going to do about the real Goliath?"

Xanatos stepped back to the holding tank and stared at the unconscious Goliath.  As long as the gargoyle was sedated, he could keep Goliath as long as he wanted.  As far as the others, he could still use the BioRobot to fool them.  It was as convincing a corpse as it had been a living gargoyle.  In their eyes their proud leader was gone, and that could be used for leverage.

"Patch up the BioGoliath to look like we did our best to keep him preserved." Xanatos said as they entered the room with the BioGoliath.  "I will deal with the others when they arrive tomorrow night."

Owen nodded and looked at the beat up robot.  In his opinion it looked very lifelike, he almost pitied the thing.  It may have been robotic, but it really did have Goliath's personality and feelings.

He stood and listened as Xanatos and Demona discussed how his employer had used MacGregor's work.  According to Xanatos, MacGregor had known what he was working on, but he hadn't known why.  The main reason that Xanatos wanted the "miracle cure," was not for the benefit of all mankind.  The real reason was that he was going to use it in his BioRobots, as a method of advanced healing.

Nanotechnology was great, but it was also very expensive to make and maintain.  With a genetic version there was no need of programming.  The living cells did the work; at a greatly accelerated rate, as opposed to natural healing speeds.  With such powers of regeneration, the BioClan could have become much more biomechanical than robotic.  Eventually he could have made them into mostly organic machines, and with the perfect blend of sinew and synthetics they could have been unimaginably useful weapons.

Xanatos turned to Demona.  "What about the professor's 'anti- stone' work?  With a chemical formula to prevent the gargoyles' magical daily hibernation--*"

"You do *not* need to have that!" the immortal shot back at him, giving him an angry look.  Xanatos raised an eyebrow: he had not expected her to become upset.  "That was *my* project, and it will be my method of regaining the gargoyles' trust."

She moved away from the tank and dug her talons into one of the nearby computers.  Xanatos was about to say something when she answered his question.

"It doesn't work!" was her forced, angered reply.  "While you were out, I used the computer to analyze the formula.  It only lasts for a few hours.  After that it breaks down.  I should have known better than to use science to combat sorcery...

"Not that it matters anymore.  It seems that Puck's spell is back in effect," she grumbled.  "Once again I turn into a weakly human at sunrise."

Xanatos gave her a momentary glance.  "I was only asking..." "Are you going to leave him in the tank?" Owen said in his normal, unemotional voice, gesturing to Goliath's aquatic prison. "I think it's safer to leave him in there for a while,"

Xanatos replied, taking his gaze away from the window.  "For safety we'll drain the tank before sunrise."

Demona nodded her head and started toward the door.  She was not concerned with Xanatos' personnel; by now they were getting used to seeing her around.  "I will be in touch with you in due time, Xanatos," she practically growled.  "Until then just stick with the plan and get the other gargoyles to trust you.  I have other matters to attend to."

* * *

Brooklyn paced around the floor mumbling to himself.  There was still an hour of darkness left and he was concerned about leaving Goliath with Xanatos.  He was not thrilled with their decision to abandon their leader's corpse and he wanted to fly to the Eyrie Building now.  Hudson, however, who always seemed to know what to say, convinced him otherwise.  Brooklyn glanced at the others, who seemed just as concerned as he himself was. 

Elisa was sitting in the corner on a small pile of hay, her face buried in her hands.  She was not the only one who was feeling upset at their loss.   Each held a heavy heart.  When one of them tried to comfort her, she simply shook her head. 

"Please, I just...  I need to be alone... I..."  She squeezed her eyes shut, tried to swallow, and lost her composure. 

Bronx was lying at the opening to the stairway that led to the library.  Every time he would hear a noise he would lift his head and peer down the opening.  When he didn't see anybody, he whined and resumed his original position.

Through all her crying she could not get the image of Goliath's dying face out of her mind.  She kept hearing him over and over again, talking as if he could see the sun.  Her thoughts then went back to Professor Mercure and Venus's wedding.  When she had watched them get married she... she had hoped that one day...

Now, with Goliath gone, that vision no longer seemed to exist in her mind.  All she could see on the horizon was a vision of loneliness; of her dying a bitter, disillusioned old maid.

"Venus," she said softly, knowing well that she would need to be told about her brother's passing.  To make it worse it was Demona, their adopted daughter's mother, who had killed him. Wiping her nose on her sleeve, she shakily got to her feet and told them that she was going to inform Venus.  As she had expected, they winced at the thought of what Goliath's sisters reaction would be.

"Ye should wait until... until we all can go," Hudson commented.  But Elisa shook her head.

"It would not be right to wait so long to tell her," she said softly.  "Better to tell her now, waiting will only make matters worse.  I remember how I felt when my brother was struck by..." he paused, swallowing hard.  "...tragedy."

The old gargoyle nodded.  "Tell her... the loss has hit us all hard.  He was... a great leader."

Elisa nodded.  "I know," she whispered.  "I know..."  Then, without a word, she turned and fairly bolted down the steps, away from the others, into the deeper levels of the clock tower.

She waited until she was sure they had all turned to stone before leaving the clock tower.  It was something she didn't have to do, but she was trying to delay her duty as long as possible. She also took the extra time to try and calm down.

Breathing somewhat more easily, she left the clock tower and emerged in the police station.  She was lucky that nobody tried to take the time to talk with her.  It was a miracle that captain Chavez didn't stop her when she walked passed her office door.  When Elisa reached the street she got into her car and

started down the road.  For some reason it seemed to take a lot longer to reach Wards Island.  Time seemed to be moving slowly, as if this were all a dream.  The last time she had felt this odd... was when she had first met the gargoyles.  On that night, two years ago, she had spent the day driving around just like this, repeating "This can't be real, this can't be real" over and over and over again...  When she approached the front gates of the Mercures' mansion she stopped and tried to think of what she would say.

Pulling up to the intercom she pressed the call button and waited for Jacob to answer.  To her surprise it was the professor himself who replied.

"Yes?" came the familiar voice from the speaker.

"Hello, professor," she said as she pressed the talk button, voice craggy.  "It's me.  Elisa.  May I... may I come in?"

There was a momentary pause before Scott replied.  "Of course, Elisa, hold on while I find the open button."

She waited a few more seconds before the front gate buzzed and slowly opened.  Once she was inside, she drove up to the parking area.  Exiting her car, she slowly made her way up the front walkway to the door.  Her body seemed so very, very heavy...

When she was about to press the doorbell, the door opened to reveal Professor Mercure.  As always, he was smiling in his usual friendly fashion.  He was about to say something when he noticed the expression on her face.  There was an awkward pause. 

"What's wrong?" was all he said.

Elisa looked at the ground for a moment before answering. "I have some... bad news about Goliath."  Then she snorted a bitter, teary laugh.  "'Bad.'  Heh.  Oh, God, all I can say is 'bad'?!" She began to chuckle sickly, but then broke into peals of sobbing.

Scott placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face so they were eye level.  He gazed sadly at the wetness in her eyes, then pulled her into a hug. "How?"

She sniffed and hugged him tightly.  "We went to meet Demona in a warehouse at the docks.  Goliath had assumed that she wanted to talk.  Instead... it was a trap."

It took some time for her to explain the entire ordeal. When she finished Scott patted her back comfortingly, massaging her tense back beneath the soft, worn leather of her jacket. 

"Is Venus here?" Elisa asked softly. 

Scott nodded his head silently and ushered her inside.  As they approached the main hall they met Jacob.  The old butler looked at their expressions.

"Why, sir, madam, whatever is the matter?"

"Goliath's dead," Elisa grated simply, eyes heavy. The butler's expression was one of surprise and then sadness.  "Madam Venus is... feeding Mistra.  Upstairs."  Jacob bowed his head and said how sorry he was about losing Goliath.

"He was... a remarkable fellow.  I can see he... *meant* something to you..."  Elisa smiled weakly and nodded slightly. "Thanks," she muttered, not feeling much of anything other than fatigue.

The professor led her upstairs toward his bedroom.  Scott hesitated for a moment before opening the oak door.  Stepping inside they saw Venus sitting on the large bed.  In her arms was Mistra, busily sucking on a milk-filled bottle which she clutched with both five-taloned hands.

Venus smiled when she saw who was with the professor and waved them closer.  Elisa bit her lip and wondered if Goliath's sister could see her facial expression.

"Venus," Scott said softly.  "Elisa has something to tell you concerning your brother."

She tilted her head in puzzlement and did not object when the professor took their adopted daughter.  Her eyes widened, shocked, as Elisa's emotions suddenly imprinted themselves in Venus' psi-sensitive brain.  Elisa sat on the bed next to her and told her what had happened to Goliath.  Both Elisa and the professor were amazed at how calmly Venus took it.

When the detective was finished, Venus shook her head.  "I don't know what you had for lunch, Elisa, but my brother is *not* dead."

Elisa blinked.

Several seconds passed, and suddenly something boiled up inside of her and she recoiled, mouth open.  At first she felt... *insulted!* Then, like the rippling of a passing wave, that emotion gave way to a pent-up rage she didn't even realize she had been carrying deep within her.  Her facial muscles tightened, and her almost-calm voice was noticably stressed.

"I was *there*, Venus, I know what I saw!" Elisa said with a hint of threat.  "You act as if you don't even care!  Your brother is DEAD!"  Scott noticed Elisa's balled fists.  "HE'S DEAD!!"

For the first time since the battle with Blackwing's clan did Elisa see Venus get angry.  Growling under her breath Venus stormed to her feet and pointed a deadly talon at Elisa.  The dark red glow in her eyes added to her ferocity, but the cop's glare seemed far more deadly.

"Do you think I wouldn't know if my brother died?" Venus said in a harsh tone.  "If he died, I would have felt his death.

We share a genetic link with each other.  Mine is much stronger than his, augmented by psychic abilities and magical powers, so I would *know* if something happened."

Elisa stole a quick glance at the professor only to see him as shocked as her.  The detective wanted to be mad, wanted to be murderously furious... but something pinged inside of her.  "You would... know...?"

"Rest assured that my brother is alive," Venus added.  "I don't know what you saw, but it was not my brothers' death.  You said it yourself; Demona was involved.  That guarantees trickery and deception."

Venus sighed, stepped over to the professor, and gently ran her finger down Mistra's cheek.

"Mistra will not be like her real mother," Venus said in a soft, angry tone.  "I will make sure of that."

"So if Goliath's isn't ..." Elisa hesitated, thinking of a better word to use.  Her emotions were savagely strong but conflicting.  "...*gone*, then where is he?"

"No doubt Demona would know," Scott replied, gently rocking the baby.  "Or perhaps Xanatos, since he was so generous as to take Goliath into his care."

Elisa's eyes widened and her mouth fell open.  "Oh, my God... I should have seen it before! Xanatos has that BioClan of his!  He could easily make a copy of Goliath!"  Her expression was of renewed shock, yet of hope.  She seized Prof. Mercure by the shoulders.  "He could be alive!  He could be ALIVE!!"  Her face split into a grin, and tears of remorse became those of elation.

"That's what I've been *telling* you!" Venus walked around the room a few times, mumbling to herself.  "So, you and the others are going to Xanatos's building tomorrow night.  I will go with you."

The detective nodded her head, dazed.  "Oh, thank God... He's not gone..."  She whirled to Scott.  "He *can't* be!"

Scott smiled and placed Mistra back in her crib.  Venus slid her arm around her husband's waist and kissed him on the cheek.

"If Xanatos wants to play games," Venus said softly.  "Then we can play games, too.  I will meet you at the clock tower before sundown tonight, Elisa.  If Goliath is not dead... we must make sure that the fate he suffers under Xanatos is no worse."

Elisa nodded.  "Um...  Thank you."  She broke into a grin and bit her bottom lip.  "Thank you.  I'm sorry, I just..."  She paused.  "Before I go... may I... may I hold Mistra...?"

Scott nodded and placed the tiny gargoyle-human hybrid in Elisa's arms.  Adjusting her arms so that the infant would be comfortable, she looked into her eyes.  "She doesn't turn to stone..."

"Nope.  Whether it's because of her human genes or Puck's tampering, we may never know.  But she remains flesh and blood twenty-four hours a day," offered Scott.

Mistra looked up at Elisa and smiled, baring ever so tiny fangs happily.  It was weird seeing such a young baby with teeth, but then again gargoyles were not human.  The last she had held Mistra was when she had been born, not so long ago.

So much had happened in Elisa's life in the past few weeks. She had witnessed the birth a new life, attended a one-of-a-kind wedding and seen Goliath's death.

"Well ..." she said to herself.  "At least the last part isn't true."  Hesitating for a moment, her mind began to wonder.

"What if Venus is wrong and Goliath is actually ..." She shook the thoughts from her mind.  They couldn't be true, not with Goliath, they *couldn't* be true! A soft cry from Mistra brought her mind back into focus.  Venus handed her a bottle.

"She's still hungry."

A short time later Jacob knocked on the door.  "I heard the good news," he smiled warmly.  "I am most happy that Master Goliath is not dead."

"Jacob!" scolded Scott, smiling.  "You were eavesdropping?" The old butler opened his mouth, then glanced around.  "Er, uh...  That is... I believe there is some else who needs love, sir..."

Elisa tilted her head in puzzlement as Scott opened the door.  Standing in the doorway Jacob was holding a tiny black dog.

Venus smiled and happily took the tiny dog from the butler's arms.  She carried it over to where Elisa was sitting on the bed and showed it to her.

"When did you get a dog?" Elisa asked as Mistra quietly sucked from the bottle.

"A few days ago," Scott answered.  "Venus found her down by the river and took her home. Her name is Puce, it's French for 'flea'."

Elisa smiled and felt something odd building up within her. A family lived in this house, just like a dream that Elisa wished she could experience.

"Goliath ..." she said to herself.  "Please be alive ... My future may depend on it."

* * *

Elisa stood on the platform outside the clock tower where the gargoyles were still slumbering.  She stood there, staring at the missing cornice where Goliath should have been.  Looking up, she saw a familiar figure in the distance.  It was odd seeing a gargoyle as flesh and blood during the day, but for Venus it was routine.

The detective watched as Goliath's sister threw out her wings and came to rest, perched on the railing.  Elisa smiled slightly as Venus jumped to the flattop.

Venus looked at the sleeping gargoyles and crossed her arms silently.  Elisa glanced at Goliath's sister and wondered just what she was thinking.  She knew Venus was mysterious, and even powerful than the others expected, from what she had seen her do in the past, along with what Puck had said at the Mercures' wedding...

 For some reason Venus approached Brooklyn's statue and stared into his frozen face.  She smiled playfully and said something so softly that Elisa could not make it out.

"Venus," Elisa said, getting the gargoyle's attention, "what is it that you have in mind for Xanatos?"

"I know that this Xanatos person is tricky.  Scott has said as much," Venus answered.  "Chances are he has Goliath imprisoned in his building."

Elisa hunched her shoulders.  "So? That still doesn't explain what you have in mind."

The gargoyle sorceress covered her mouth and tried not to laugh.  "Recently I've been performing strange tricks using my... *unique* powers.  Just a few hours ago I learned that I could do something else that could come in handy."

"And what is that?" Elisa asked, quite puzzled by Venus's odd riddles.

Venus grinned wickedly.  "Choose a person that I've seen before."

"Huh? ... Why?"

"Just pick somebody," she repeated, closing her eyes. Elisa gave Venus an odd look and said the first name that came to her mind.  "Xanatos."

"Somehow I thought you'd pick him," Venus chuckled.  "Very well, step back a few feet."

Without asking another question Elisa did as Venus asked and waited for her to do something.  She watched as Venus closed her eyes and began chanting to herself.  As the soft Latin tones escaped her mouth, a soft blue aura formed around her body.  As her spell finished, her last word was "Xanatos".

In the span of ten seconds her body seemed to fade out of existence.  When her image returned Venus was no longer there, but Xanatos was.  The billionaire smiled and crossed his arms over his chest.

Elisa was about to pull her gun when Xanatos held up his hand and spoke.  Elisa recognized Venus's voice, but it was Xanatos who was speaking.

"Don't worry, Elisa," Venus said, speaking from the human's mouth.  "I can assume the image of any person or living creature that I've seen before, it would seem.  Even those larger or smaller than myself."

"That's ..." Elisa said, sounding amazed, "... a really weird power to have, Venus."

Venus nodded her head, or rather Xanatos's image did.  "I know. You should have seen Scott and Jacob when I did it.  They nearly had a heart attack."

Elisa smiled and laughed a little, perhaps she would have found it more humorous if the situation was better.  When she looked to the west, she noticed that the sun was setting fast. 

If the gargoyles were to awaken while Venus was in this form it could get quite ugly.

"Perhaps you should turn back into your gargoyle form now," Elisa suggested.

The Xanatos image nodded and recited the spell again.  Once again Venus was surrounded by magical energy.  Her body seemed to phase out of existence and then she reappeared.  Xanatos was gone and Venus was back to her original form. Elisa shook her head and began to wonder just what Venus was capable of.  Such power in one person was quite hard to believe. 

She was about to say something when she noticed the sky begin to fade to a dark crimson, orange color.

A few moments later there came the familiar sounds of cracking stone.  Both women turned to face the sleeping stone forms and each burst from their stone skin.  Hundreds of stone shards went sailing in all directions as they shook them from their bodies.

Brooklyn turned and noticed Elisa and Venus standing at the doorway to the clock tower.  He, like the others, frowned and jumped to the flattop.  Hudson was about to say something when Venus held up her hand and smiled.

"I know what you're going to say, Hudson," she smiled.  "But I should tell you now that Goliath is still alive."

Goliath's clan gave her a look of utter shock.  Brooklyn frowned and seemed very puzzled at her.

"Ye were'nt there, lass." Hudson said, approaching Goliath"s sister.  "I may be old, but I still have one good eye."

Venus shook her head and told them what she had told Elisa. When she finished they looked at her in amazement.

"It was all a trick!" Brooklyn hissed, pacing around the platform.  "Now Xanatos has Goliath, doing God-knows-what-with him!"

During all the commotion nobody noticed Matt step out from the door.  Elisa noticed him emerge and waved him over.  When he asked where Goliath was they explained, yet again, what had transpired in the last few days.

"Let's go bust him!" Matt said, shoving both hands in his pockets.

Elisa shook her head.  "For what, killing a machine that looks like a living gargoyle?"  At least she hoped it had been a machine.  "We'd wind up in a padded room."

"So, what are we gonna do?" Lexington asked.  "Xanatos will be expecting us to show."

"We don't even know where he's keepin' him, lads," Hudson added.

"Somewhere deep," Venus said, closing her eyes.  "I also sense that he's unconscious.  He thinks he's dead, but in fact he's having some sort of odd dream."

"Deep huh?" Brooklyn said softly, crossing his arms.  "Then Goliath's in one of the sub-levels.  It's there Xanatos does all of his *important* work."

"We need a plan," Broadway said, to nobody in particular. Venus jumped onto the railing and turned to face them. "I have a plan that should throw Xanatos for a loop."

She explained that they would go to Castle Wyvern and ask to get Goliath back.  Venus, in turn, would enter the castle at some point and look around.

Using her new power, she'd assume the identity of somebody who worked there.  With her genetic link to Goliath she would be able to locate him anywhere in the building.  Venus rubbed her chin. Is there anybody who can get in close to Xanatos?"

The first person to be mentioned was Owen, but he would be far too obvious.  The next was Fox.  She would be able to get close to Xanatos without alerting him.

Venus nodded her head.  "I would assume that some areas requite hand or retina scans?"

Lexington nodded.  "Not to mention thermal imaging, x-rays, brain-wave patters... even quick DNA samples!"

Venus sighed  "Unfortunately my powers cannot mimic those things," she explained.  "My changeling ability only creates a mirror image, a projected mental picture.  It could fool someone who doesn't look very closely, or could trick a security camera, but in order to pass those other tests I'd need... well, body parts."

The others grimaced at the thought, as did Venus.  She wanted to get her brother back, but not at the expense of butchering other humans like that.

She came to the conclusion that she could find somebody to take her into the lower sections.

"Is there anything else I should know about the skyscraper?" Venus asked as she turned to looked at the distant Eyrie Building.

"If you need to use the main elevator you'll need a key that Xanatos has." Brooklyn added; he'd seen the billionaire use it on more than one occasion.  "Without it you can't get into the sub levels."

Venus grinned and licked her lips.  "I think his wife would be able to handle that, my dear Brooklyn."

Elisa shook her head and decided she would not ask just how Venus would do that.

"So, what should I do?" Matt asked, feeling left out.

"Cover for me while we go get Goliath," Elisa replied.  "I'm supposed to be on duty tonight.  Think you can handle it without me?"

Her partner shot her a look.  "Without a problem, partner. I used to be FBI, you know."  He puffed out his chest.

Elisa nodded.  At least she wouldn't have to watch him while they were with Xanatos.  She hoped, prayed, that Venus knew what she was doing.  Goliath's sister had only been in Manhattan for a short time, but she was quite intelligent... as well as downright paranormal.

Matt took his leave of them and said that he would get in contact with Elisa later.  She nodded and watched as he vanished through the door at the base of the clock.

Venus nodded and pointed to Xanatos' building.  "We should get going now, before Xanatos begins to wonder where you are."

Hudson and the others nodded and Brooklyn took Elisa up in his arms.  She felt a little weird being held in Brooklyn's arms, but for now it would have to do.

"I'll come in from behind the castle," said Venus matter-of-factly.  "All you have to do is *keep him busy!*"

One by one they gargoyles took off from the clock tower, fading into the darkened sky.  Venus stared at the castle for a minute before leaping into the air.  For her plan to work she needed to come in from behind.  Instead of following the others she banked east and made a wide circle.  She knew Xanatos had scanning devices so she had to be careful.

She was about halfway there and about to turn when a strange feeling came over her.  For a brief moment she felt as if Goliath was becoming aware again.  When she tried to concentrate on the feeling it vanished suddenly.  She shook the thought from her head and continued on.

Without drawing any attention to herself she swooped in low to the street.  As she came close to the Xanacorp building she caught an updraft and rose swiftly towards the top.  Unless the scanning devices were very well designed they would not pick her up since she was so close to the side of the building.  She was about three quarters of the way when the updraft started to fade. Reaching out, she dug her talons into the side of the building and climbed the rest of the way.  "Here's hoping he doesn't have any seismic activity monitors," she muttered, all-too-aware of how loudly her claws were crunching into the skyscraper's material.

When she reached the castle she slipped in one of the windows and looked around.  It looked as if she was in the old servants' quarters.  Such memories... It had been more than a thousand years... A closer examination showed that it only served as a storage area for assorted junk now.

She knew the corridor would lead her into the main hall where she could begin her search.  As she made her way down the dark hall she kept her senses alert.  When she appeared at the doorway to the main hall she stopped and peered inside.  Xanatos and the others were already there, discussing Goliath's "corpse".

"When are you going to bring him?" Hudson said, crossing his arms in anger.  "Ye said Goliath would be handed over t' us."

Xanatos held up his hand and nodded.  "Don't worry, my friends, you'll soon be with him."

"Where is he?" Brooklyn growled.

"My people are still patching him up," he replied.  "Demona did a fair amount of damage.  I only want to make sure his body is taken care of."

The mention of Demona seemed to have a visible effect on the gargoyles, as well as Elisa.  Some balled their fists and spat several comments against the female gargoyle.  Venus noticed Xanatos smile for a moment before putting his hand over his mouth, covering his momentary falter with a stroke of his beard and clearing of his throat.

"Brooklyn said that he keeps the key in his pocket," she said to herself.  "I wonder where Xanatos' wife is."

As if on cue a human woman appeared from the other side of the hall.  Xanatos turned to face her and greeted her warmly.

"Ah, my lovely wife," he said politely.  "Is there something you wanted?"

Fox shook her head.  "I heard talking.  I was just curious." 

She ran an eye up and down the clan, then turned to leave.  "So good to meet you all again, but I really must be on my way."  She had a company to take from her father...

"Good," Venus said to herself.  "Now the fun starts."

Stepping back into the darkness she closed her eyes and started enchanting.  She could feel the magic swirling around her body as her powers grew.  When she opened her eyes she looked down to see that her form had altered.  Venus's image was no longer seen, but instead the human known as Fox Xanatos greeted her eyes.

She grinned and stepped into the hall with Xanatos and the gargoyles.  David turned to see his wife again and tilted his head in puzzlement.  He was about to say something when Elisa interrupted him.

"We haven't got all day, Xanatos," she said angrily as Fox quietly walked past the multibillionaire.

Out the corner of her eye Elisa saw Fox wave her hand.  She almost gasped when she noticed a small key on a thin chain float out from Xanatos' pocket and into Fox's hand.  She winked and made a face behind Xanatos; Fox stuck her tongue out at Xanatos?!

"Venus," Elisa said to herself, shaking her head ever so slightly, "you are one very remarkable gargoyle."

Without saying a word Fox continued past and vanished into a side doorway.  She stopped for a moment and watched the group to see that Xanatos asked them to wait another hour.

"That's not what you said last evening!" snapped Brooklyn as they began to become angry.

The billionaire shook his head and said there was nothing he could do until his people were finished. He suggested that they wait in the recreation room until he called for them.  Elisa said something to Hudson and Brooklyn and they seemed to agree with Xanatos' suggestion.

Venus did all she could not to laugh.  It was too good; they were (quite literally) playing Xanatos' own games with him.  As the trio might say, it was too cool.

She continued down the hall until she came to an odd-looking elevator.  Pausing for a moment, she pressed the call button and waited for the doors to open.  When they did she stepped in and looked at the row of buttons.  There were many, many floors below this building, but she could see nothing beyond "Level 1."

When the doors closed she examined the rest of the cubicle and found a keyhole above the buttons.  She inserted the key and turned it clockwise.  A new panel hissed open below the buttons with a new set of buttons.

"Interesting," she said softly as she looked at the buttons. There were no level names, just numbers, so she pressed the very last one.  The elevator began moving downward at a very fast speed.  As it did the level counter counted down until it hit the bottom floor.

Almost instantly it changed color and began to count up from one again.  As it did she felt a strong sense of her brother around the twentieth level before it faded again.  She hit the stop button and pressed the button marked "20".  The elevator began moving again for a short time before stopping at sub-level 20.  As the doors opened she was met with four of Xanatos Elite           guards.  Venus smiled warmly and stepped into the hall.  The men saw the image of Fox and saluted.

With whatever magic she could call on she did her best to mimic Fox's voice.  Perhaps it sounded a bit odd but when she asked where Goliath was being held they answered without question.

"Sub-level twenty one, Mrs.  Xanatos," the guard replied crisply. "Next floor down."

Venus nodded and said thanks before entering the elevator and taking it down to the next level.  As before, the doors opened and she was met with more guards.  They saw who it was and let her pass without any questions.

As she walked down the hall she glanced at the doors to see if she could find anything.  Her feelings for Goliath became very strong as she reached the end of the hall.  Before her was a steel door with an emblem on it: Bioengineering (MAIN LAB).

Within she could feel her brother's presence, very faint but alive.

She pushed on the door and stepped inside.  Lying on a steel table was a patched up version of Goliath.  A closer look showed that it was lifeless.  On the far wall, held up by chains, was her brother, quite unconscious but alive.

Moving over to the real Goliath, she examined the chains holding him and was about to free him when somebody stepped in. 

Turning, she saw the last person she wanted to meet...  Demona. 

Demona noticed her standing before Goliath and seemed to get a little upset.

"What are *you* doing here, human?" Demona spat in her usual unfriendly manner.

The Fox-image smiled coolly.  "None of your concern." 

Demona became quite angry and growled menacingly, showing her annoyance even more with her red-glowing eyes.

"Perhaps I should ask you the same thing, Demona," said the image of Fox.  "Does David know you're here?"

"Of course he does, human!  Who do you think masterminded this entire thing?" she said wickedly.  "Me, that's who!  Your human lover needed me to pull all this off."

Fox turned away from Demona and hung her head.  This was the same Demona who had handed her daughter over to herself and Scott not too long ago.  Goliath and the others had thought she had changed, but even losing her own love did nothing to soften her hatred.  The death of James MacGregor had reopened thousand-year-old wounds, and any progress Demona had made towards regaining her "humanity" had been lost...  She was back to the same evil, spiteful Demona she had been before MacGregor changed her life.

Venus felt a tear well up in her eye, and that's when she felt the magic begin to falter.  Demona was sidetracking her concentration and she was no longer focusing on her Fox image. Before she could correct it the magic began to fade.  Demona stepped back in defense at the magical sight before her and prepared to attack.

Demona was about to leap at Fox when Venus' real form appeared.

"You...!" Demona said softly, still looking violent.  "You came here to free him, didn't you?"

Venus took up a defensive posture and stood between Goliath and Demona.  Since her brother was unconscious he would obviously not be able to defend himself.

"What happened to you, Demona?" Venus asked angrily.  "A few days ago you seemed so happy and full of love.  Now, since your human mate was killed, you decide to direct your rage on humans again."

A small tear fell down Venus' cheek as Venus thought of Mistra and of her real mother.  Demona seemed to think about something for a minute before answering.

"You haven't seen the world as I have," she said in a soft, angry tone.  "Humans want nothing but the death of our kind. I've pledged to rid the world of the human plague.  Gargoyles should be the rightful rulers!"

"No, Demona!" Venus replied.  "Not all humans are evil. Many are kind and would accept our kind.  What about my human husband, or James MacGregor? Are *they* evil, do *they* want to rid the world of gargoyles?"

Demona seemed to lose her willingness to fight and stepped back behind the table, still snarling slightly.

"No," she said softly.  "James was not human.  Not in the least."

Venus shook her head sadly.  "Demona, he *was*--*"

"NO!!" shouted Demona hatefully.  "Shut up!!  He was NOT human!  He was... he was..."  She swallowed, and her glare became even more intense.  "...he was perfect.  He was my love.  And their filthy stinking kind took him from me."

"But Scott--*" protested Venus.

Demona uttered a short, harsh, bitter laugh.  "Oh, yes, your precious Scott.  Scott this, Scott that.  Always your precious human, always your precious *husband*!"  She spat the word as if it were a curse.  "You shall see, one day, Venus.  One day you'll notice him grimace when he looks at you, out of the corner of your eye.  One day you'll catch him glancing at other females, more attractive ones, ones of *his* species.  One day he'll make some comment, some crack about your wings or your tail or your differently-colored skin.  He'll brush it off as a joke, perhaps, or a slip of the tongue.  But you'll know.  You'll know what he really thinks."

Venus faltered and Demona pressed her attack.

"That's how they work.  That's how they think.  One day he'll leave you, one day he'll decide that he's had enough of mating with you.  One day the novelty of wedding a freak will wear off.  You'll see.  When he tires of you and discards you like some used-up pleasure device, when you're sitting there huddled and shivering, abandoned by the human you love..."

Demona paused, realizing she was picturing in her mind... Robert.  James.  Who left her.  Left her just when she needed them the most.  "...you'll see I was right.  You'll come around. You'll see.  One day..."  Demona jabbed a talon at Venus.  "Oh, you'll see...."

Venus was suddenly shaking.  "That's... that's not true."

She blinked rapidly, and her throat felt sore...  "Scott's not... Scott wouldn't..."

Demona sighed.  "Ah, you poor, young fool.  I pity you.  You really don't understand.  And for that, I *am* sorry..."  She relaxed and stood straight upright.  "I do not wish to fight you, Venus.  Some day you'll see that I'm right, and then..."  Demona trailed off.  Venus was visibly very flustered at the grim picture the immortal had painted of humanity, but hey -- it was all true.

She hesitated for a few moments before speaking.  Whatever she wanted to say it seemed to pain her very deeply.

"How..." Demona began, hesitating for a moment.  "How is Mistra doing?"

Venus was momentarily caught off guard by the question and needed to think for a moment.

"Mistra is doing fine, Demona," she replied softly.  "We've been taking very good care of her.  She's beautiful, Demona, just like her mother."

Demona seemed to be taken aback by her comment about her being beautiful.  She respected Venus, but even she did not expect her to say anything like that.  Those awful feelings began to overcome her again.

"No!" Demona said to herself.  "Emotions only show weakness, you can't be weak!"  Weakness made you helpless and she hated, *hated* being helpless!

"Get out!" was all Demona could think of to say. 

Venus shook her head and crossed her arms.  "If you want Goliath then you'll have to go though me!"

"Will you leave, Venus!" Demona hissed.  "I don't want to hurt you but don't push me too far!  If you just leave now, none of this ever happened.  Understand?  We can be allies!  Leave him!  He has been corrupted by the human filth!"

Without waiting for Demona to do something Venus stepped over to Goliath and grasped his bonds.  Demona growled and leapt at her, talons extended.  Venus ducked but Demona managed to get a piece of her anyway.  A sharp pain shot though her lower back as she felt hot blood begin to trickle down her skin.

She reached behind her and felt the injury.  It didn't seem very bad.  Without fighting back, she gripped his bonds again and yanked.  Demona grabbed her by the wrist and spun her away. 

"Venus!" Demona yelled.  "Stop it now! I don't want to hurt you again!  There are too few of us left!  DON'T MAKE ME KILL YOU!!"  Her fangs were fully bared and her eyes shone like beacons.

This time it was Venus who became angry.  A low growl appeared in her throat as her own eyes bore crimson.  Demona took up a defensive position, but then feinted and lunged. 

They locked hands and stared each other in the face, growling and hissing.  Each could feel the other's strength but Demona seemed to be slightly stronger.  Venus felt her arms begin to weaken and tried her best not to show vulnerability.

"Face it, Venus!" Demona growled.  "You cannot hope to best me in battle!  Quit now while you still can!"

"As long as you hold my brother I won't quit!" Venus shot back angrily.  "Kill me if you must!  That's the only way you'll be able to keep Goliath prisoner!"

Without warning Demona shoved her backwards into the wall. Venus felt something well up within her and let loose with a magic chant.  Demona's eyes widened in shock as she was lifted three feet off the ground.  Her vise-grip lock on Venus's hands loosened and she let go of her.

"How are you doing that?" Demons asked, a combination of shock and wonder.  "You're a sorcerer?!"  She wheeled her arms around, but it was as if some invisible hand was holding her up, floating her just out of reach of anything substantial.  She felt like a kitten in its mother's mouth.  She felt... helpless!

Venus nodded and stepped by her, making sure to keep her mind focused on Demona.  If she was to let up, her hold would weaken just as it had the first time.  No matter what Demona did she was unable to get down.  Venus could hear her hissing and flapping her wings fruitlessly.

Reaching out, she once again gripped Goliath's bonds and pulled with all her might.  There was a dull, metallic tear as the bonds broke free of the wall.

Demona felt worse than helpless.  Never before had she had magic used upon her like this.  She could feel its power; she never knew such power could be contained in one person; except one of Oberon's Children.  Demona herself needed potions and magical artifacts to create enchantments.  Even the Archmage had only known a handful of spells that did not need the Grimorum.

Venus simply... chanted!

All Demona could so was float there and watch what was going on. It felt weird not being able to anything, and being surrounded by magic didn't help any.

Venus was busy tearing the shackles from Goliath's wrists when Demona heard something outside the doors.  It didn't sound like Xanatos.  Perhaps it was on of his flunkies coming to see what all the commotion was.

Demona's eyes widened as the door opened and four of Xanatos' guards stepped inside.  They immediately saw Venus freeing Goliath and raised their weapons.  Apparently they had not seen her yet but it would not be long before she was discovered.

Something in Demona's mind clicked.  Those men were going to kill Venus.  She made a split-second decision that even she herself couldn't believe.

"Venus!" Demona shouted.  "Watch out behind you!"

Goliath's sister had just enough time to look before the guards fired.  She ducked away from the deadly particle beams and took shelter behind the table.  For some reason she let go of the magic holding Demona and let her fall to the floor. 

Armor-piercing bullets *spanged* off the metal above her. Demona quickly got to her feet and charged at the guards. One had barley enough time to scream before Demona slammed him into the wall.  There was a dull thud as the guard's red visor cracked, a thin trail of blood ran down his now exposed face.

Another of the guards turned and fired.  His laser caught the upper part of Demona's wing.  She winced in pain as the thin membrane was seared, forming a burn hole.  Growling away the pain she lashed out at him.  Half of his weapon clanked to the ground as her talons slashed through it.

Venus peered out from behind the table to see Demona in combat with the guards.  She saw that Demona had already been hurt so she charged out and slashed with her own talons.  She felt the warm blood of the guard trickle down her hands as they swiped his chest and stomach, but tried to refrain from attacks which would do serious damage.  In a twisted way... these men were just doing their jobs.  She dispatched her prey without killing him and spun about.

The last guard bolted out the door.

Demona shouted at Venus.  "Get him out of here and GO!!" 

Venus stared at Demona, shocked. 

"NOW!!" roared the immortal.  "Or I shall kill you myself!!"

A second later she pursued the guard out the door, but not before an alarm sounded.  A moment later Venus heard a high pitched shriek; apparently Demona had caught up with the guard. Freeing Goliath of the last of his bonds, she concentrated her magic and lifted him from the ground.  She was strong, but even she would have a hard time carrying him in her arms.  When she had a firm hold on him she focused her powers on another spell, one of the most difficult ones she knew...

...  Teleportation.

* * *

Xanatos was trying to keep the gargoyles occupied a while. He had hoped by making them wait they'd start to respect him. After all, he was helping with their poor, deceased leader, wasn't he?

He was about to say something to Elisa when the klaxon alarms began sounding.  The gargoyles jumped to their feet and demanded to know what as going on.

At the time Owen hurried in hastily, yet cool and formal.

"Sir," he said, calm as always, "it seems there's some trouble in sub-level twenty-one."

Xanatos raised an eyebrow.  "What kind of trouble, Owen? Is it an intruder, or something worse?"

Owen cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.  "From the brief report I got it's probably a little of both."

"Alert the guards and tell them to do as little damage as possible," he instructed his majordomo.

The butler nodded his head and stepped from the room to where his office was.  Xanatos knew he could contact the sub-levels from there and get more information.

"What about Goliath?" Brooklyn roared.  "If something happens to his body your time in this life is ended!"

Xanatos regained his composure and addressed the gargoyles in a calm manner.  "I assure you that nothing is wrong with Goliath. He's not even on that level."  At least he hoped that Goliath, and his look-alike, were unharmed.

From deep within the bowls of the sub-levels he heard the faint sound of a thermite grenade go off.  The gargoyles became very frustrated and began showing it in their eyes.  Xanatos knew he had better start doing something or else he'd lose whatever hold he had on them already.

"I must insist that you all remain here until I can find out just what the hell is going on," he muttered hurriedly as the floor began to stop shaking.

With that said, he turned and left, but not before hearing several comments from the gargoyles.  If he was quick enough he could make it to the elevator and take charge of the situation himself.

When he reached the elevator he went to get his key, which was no longer there.

"What the...?" he said to himself as he began searching the rest of his pockets.  "I just had the damn thing!"

At that instant a bright flash appeared before him.  When the light faded he saw two forms; Venus and Goliath.  His heart sank into his feet when he saw the key hanging from Venus's hand.

"Here's your key back, Xanatos," she said calmly, tossing the tiny thing towards him.  When he caught it in his hand she gave him something else; a swift punch to the stomach.  If she had used her gargoyle strength he would possibly have been dead, but she had no desire to kill him.  Instead he buckled over and fell to the floor, clutching at his midsection.

"And that's for what you did to Goliath!" she said sweetly. By that time the other gargoyles, and Elisa, had arrived as well.  They saw Venus standing there next to Goliath, who was still out cold.  They saw Xanatos on the ground and had to restrain themselves from tearing him apart.  If they did that they'd be no better than Xanatos himself.

Hudson and Broadway picked Goliath up and started for the outside exit.  Elisa said something about wanting to make an arrest but she would not be able to file anything.  Doing so would make the gargoyles known, and that was something she did want to happen.

Besides, what would Captain Chavez say when Elisa tried to explain why she was arresting him? Instead she gave him an evil glare and followed the gargoyles out of the castle, wrapping her arms around Brooklyn's neck for the flight home.

* * *

Through all the smoke and debris Demona could just barley make out the hallway.  There were many guards scattered around, either dead or badly injured.  When she had taken the grenade from the guard a few moments ago she had not expected it to do this much damage.  Apparently Xanatos had his weapons upgraded to more powerful proportions.  Thermite-plasma was expensive...

She felt slightly tired.  When the first wave of guards had appeared she welcomed the fight.  It had been a long time since she had been able to do humans such harm.

As far as her own injuries, the only ones that remained were a singed wing, a few deep gashes in her side, and some burns.

Aside from that she felt fine; her magical healing abilities were already beginning to do their work on what damage was left.

Demona made her way past the destruction to the elevator at the far end.  Pressing the call button she was amazed that it still worked at all.  When the elevator arrived she entered it and pressed the button to Castle Wyvern.

It rose swiftly and in a few moments it stopped.  The doors opened to reveal Xanatos.  The human was picking himself up off the floor, one hand on his stomach.  Apparently Venus must have paid her respects before leaving, or else it had been one of the other gargoyles.  Probably Brooklyn...

Either way he looked rather pathetic, which she seemed to enjoy seeing.  He was so rarely vulnerable

"Where the hell were you?" she said, sounding as if she had done all the defending.  "Your stupid guards let Venus slip right through them!"

Xanatos adjusted his jacket and stared at her.  "I assume you tried to stop her?"  His hair was already being straightened out with a brush of his hand.

She nodded her head.  "Yes, but I didn't know she was able to perform magic.  She teleported out shortly after we fought.  I have no idea where she is now."

"I think she's no longer in the building," he said, rubbing his stomach.  "What about sub-level twenty-one?  What about the laboratories?"

Demona laughed at his questions.  "If there's anything left I would not think it's much.  The main lab is destroyed, as was most of the others I would think."

The intercom beeped, and Xanatos sighed.  "Yes?" he replied to the air.

"Sir... we've had some problems down here," came a familiar voice.

"What's that, Coyote...?"

"The explosion," muttered the android.  "It let some of our 'friends' down in the test labs get a little... fiesty."

Xanatos took a deep breath.  "Casualties?"

"Nobody escaped.  Davida and Christine are safe.  But..."

There was a pause.  "...our goddess managed to dispose of four guards after she killed three scientists who were... 'experimenting' with her.  We'll need more pain-threshold experts now.  The others are... messy."

Xanatos' eyes narrowed.  "I thought you were guarding her." 

"I was, sir.  I *am*.  She's been recaptured.  No harm done to her.  But the lab... We may have to move her to sub-level 21."

"There *is* no sub-level 21," snapped Xanatos.  "Clean up down there.  I want damage estimates within the hour."

"Yes, si--*"  Xanatos cut off the link before Coyote could finish.  Xanatos sighed.  The loss of Dr. Rosenkrantz, then Prof.

MacGregor, now this.  Ah, well, at least there was still Sevarius and his assistant, Straussmore... He assumed they were deep enough in the sub-levels to escape any harm. 

"So what do we do now, Demona?" he asked.

This time she did laugh.  "I don't really care about what happened here.  All I know is that you failed, so I'll leave you to your destruction.  Ciao."

With that she turned and walked down the hall.  Xanatos felt as if he could tear the entire place apart.  The plan had been perfect, he had the gargoyles under his thumb.

"Venus," he said softly.  "Perhaps I should have destroyed you when I had the chance.  If it wasn't for you..."

He looked down at the key in his hand and tossed it across the room.  It hit the wall with a soft clink and fell to the floor.

"Damn gargoyles," he muttered.  "Would it kill them for me to win, just *once*?"

* * *

As she made her way back to her home, Demona could not help but think about what had happened.  She had let Venus get away with Goliath and she hadn't stopped them.

It didn't take long for her to reach her home.  Soon after she landed on the roof she went inside, heading down to the living area. Most of it was still in shambles, a result of her last fit of temper. She would have to get it replaced.

Reaching into her belt she withdrew the old leather journal and went upstairs.  At the very last entry there was a picture of her and James, side by side and very much in love.  He had left a permanent impression on her, one that she wished she could get rid of.

Sitting on the edge of her bed she sat and stared at the picture.  She started wondering what her life would be like now if he was still alive.  Would she have a family?  A husband and daughter to care for?  It was something that Venus had now. 

Professor Mercure was lucky to have somebody like her. She felt as if she wanted to take the professor up on his offer and visit with Mistra.  Shaking her head she decided that it was best not to do it.  She felt as if she might make the decision and take her daughter back, even though she swore to them that she would never do so.

She was, after all, Demona...  The evil gargoyle who wanted to destroy humans.  But one human had shown her that even she was capable of love.  Now he was gone forever.  Once again she felt as if she were alone.  Like she always was.  For one thousand years...

Gathering all her fears and anger she let loose with an ear-splitting scream before collapsing to the floor.  The journal and picture fell beside her, discarded and forgotten.

By the time Goliath had regained his senses it was almost dawn.  The others explained to him what had happened and how Venus had rescued him.  His reaction was less than enthusiastic as he led them to their sleeping cornices.

"I always knew Xanatos had an evil streak, but even I did not think he would stoop so low," Goliath mumbled as he steadied himself on his cornice.

Venus explained what Demona had said and how she helped her and Goliath escape.  At the mention of Demona's help Goliath felt that she could still be brought back.

"She has loved a human, and has even helped Venus save me from whatever Xanatos had planned."  He turned and looked at Elisa and Venus, standing side by side.  Elisa seemed very lovely in the fading moonlight.  If Demona ever did rejoin the clan...

But it was too late.  Even if she reformed, his Angel of the Night was gone. He gazed at Elisa.  Perhaps, though, he could find... a New Angel.

Perhaps... Perhaps he already had.

Perhaps one day they...

He didn't have time to finish, at that moment the sun appeared on the horizon.  There was the familiar cracking of stone as they reverted into their statue forms.

"Elisa?" Venus said as she stared at her brother.

The detective turned to look at her.  "Hmmm?"

Venus was about to say something else when she shook her head and smiled.  "It's nothing, Elisa...  Would you care to join myself and Scott for breakfast?"

Elisa thought it over for a minute.  It had been a long time since she'd had a home cooked breakfast.  Having breakfast with the Mercure's sounded very nice... not to mention filling.  She was hungry.

"I would love that," Elisa replied, smiling.  "Thanks.

For..." Elisa shook her head.  "...Just thanks for everything."

"You're always welcomed at our place, Elisa." Venus said warmly.  "If I'm not mistaken it's almost time for Mistra's morning feeding."

Elisa nodded and waited for Venus to pick her up.  She had never been carried by Venus before, but she wasn't afraid.  The gargoyle was, after all, Goliath's sister.  She proved her trustworthiness long ago.

Before picking Elisa up Venus took a moment to look at Goliath again.  She sensed an aura around him, something she was quite familiar with.  With a little luck he would have a mate again.  Not right now, perhaps, but someday.  Her attention then turned to Elisa.

"Perhaps someday," she repeated to herself as Elisa allowed Venus to pick her up beneath the arms. When she held a safe, firm grip on Elisa, Venus spread her wings and leapt into the air.

* * *

Ward's Island - December 24th, 2016 (Christmas Eve night)

Soft white snow blanketed the home and property of Professor Scott Mercure.  The sky overhead was clear, with a full moon hanging in the star studded sky.  One could walk around without the use of a light since it was so clear and bright.

Within the warm confines of his island home Scott and Venus were enjoying a quiet moment alone.  A huge fire crackled warmly in an equally huge fireplace nestled in the living room.

Venus slid her arm around his waist and gazed into his eyes. In the twenty years they had been married she could never get tired of looking into his eyes.  His hair was slightly graying, unlike hers, which was a dark as it was the day they wed. 

Because she no longer hibernated as stone during the day, they aged at the same rate, and were quite happy growing old together.

He pulled her into a deep kiss and hugged her gently.  Each Christmas was a happy time for her.  A huge tree, decorated to the brim, stood in the far corner.  Beneath it were scores of gifts, for them and for Elisa and the gargoyles. Tomrrow evening they would be throwing a party here. Elisa and the gargoyles were all invited, as was Straussmore's family. After some discussion they even invited Xanatos his his bunch to join them.

She nestled her head on his shoulder and listened to his slow breathing.  Even at fifty-one the professor was still able to keep her happy, even when they were in bed, although he was not as energetic as he had been in his younger years.

But still, it was always a joy to be with him. If Jacob were still with them he'd have placed a tray of tea and maple cookies on the table before the couch.

Scott and Venus were heartbroken when the old butler passed away in his sleep ten years ago.  They had never had the heart to try and replace him so they did the house duties themselves. Since Scott was retired from archeology he had plenty of time to do house chores.

Still, it didn't seem like Christmas anymore without the presence of old Jacob.  He always seemed to bring cheer into the house as he went about his duties.

In her room upstairs Mistra was quietly sleeping in her plush bed.  Like most young women she too had all the essentials that went with being twenty years old.  Because she did not turn to stone during the day, she had matured at a human rate.

A large dresser was against the far wall, with a closet stuffed with dresses next to it.  Several dozen plush toys were stacked in one corner, one of every animal known to man; along with others that seemed to defy nature.

There was a small table with a lamp next to her bed.  On the nightstand was a radio softly playing Christmas carols, next to the photograph of a young man, a human, about Mistra's age.  Not too far away was a glass door that led to a small porch outside. Through the fogged glass a winged form appeared from the outside.

Like all the doors and windows of the house it was alarmed, but whoever was outside seemed to know it.

The figure went to the small panel next to the door and punched in a series of numbers.  A moment later the light changed from red to green.  The figure pushed the sliding door open without so much as a squeak.  Before the cold could make its way inside the figure entered and closed the door.

Ever so quietly Demona stepped up to her daughter's bedside and looked down at her.  The girl had matured well, and looked almost identical to herself; with the exception of the flesh colored skin. The only other difference was that Mistra's hair was long and straight; Demona's was thick and frizzy.

She ran her hand gently through Mistra's long hair and felt a small tear well up in her eye.  It was the first time she had seen her daughter this close since she was born.

"My beautiful daughter," Demona said softly, kneeling next to the bed.  "You've grown up in a wonderful place, with a loving family."

She began to cry, ever so quietly, her head only a few inches from Mistra's cheek.  Demona reached in her belt and removed the old journal.  She placed it on the small table next to the bed, a small note was attached to the cover. 

She snorted a gentle, ironic little laugh.  "Merry Christmas."

Sniffing quietly she bent down and kissed her on the cheek. A single strand of red hair slipped down from Mistra's forehead.

Demona used the tip of her talon to push to back into place before standing.  Demona reached down to take Mistra's hand -- And was surprised at what she saw on the five-fingered hand.

An... engagement ring?

She sighed.

"Farewell, Mistra," she said softly.  "I don't think we'll ever meet again."  As she opened the sliding door she added one more comment.  "I shall always love you, my daughter."

As she stepped though the doorway she slid it closed behind her.  She was unaware, however, that a cold wind had found its way into Mistra's bed.  The female hybrid shivered slightly as her eyes blinked open.

For a moment she noticed something on the porch outside her room and she threw the covers from her body.  Her bluish nightgown swirled around her shapely body as she hurried to open the sliding door.  When she did she saw a winged figure flying away towards the city.

She knew it was a gargoyle, but which one? A female, that was certain, but in the distance she was not able to make out her features.  As the form slowly vanished into the distance she went back inside and turned on the lamp next to her bed.

When she did she noticed an odd leather bound book that had not been there before.  Tied to it was a small note.  When she looked at it, it read:

Dearest Mistra,

You do not know who I am, know only that I care deeply for you.  Within this leather journal is a link to your past.  Professor Mercure and Venus, if they so desire, will reveal your past when you show them this journal.

It's been twenty years since I last saw you.  I can only pray that you do not follow the mistakes that I made in the past.  Be good to your parents, and to anybody else who would be your friend.

I love you, Mistra, I have since the day you were born.

Love always,

- D -

Looking at the leather book again she opened it to the first page.  It was written in Latin, but thanks to her father and mother she was quite fluent in it.

The first few pages told about some guy in tenth century Scotland.  As she flipped through the rest of the journal she found hand drawn pictures.  Towards the end there was a drawing of a female gargoyle with long hair.  As she continued to stare at it a strange feeling overcame her.

It was a dead ringer for her, with the exception of the thick hair.  Tucked under the next page was a photograph, somewhat faded over time.  It was a picture of some human scientist and a blue- skinned, red-haired female gargoyle.

Strangely the two pictures looked identical; the ancient pencil sketch was the same as this picture, which was, oh, say, twenty years old or so.  And stranger still, if Mistra had blue skin she could have passed for either one...

She turned back to the drawn picture in the journal and noticed a caption below.

"Something as simple as a kiss is worth more than anything in the world."

It also referred to the gargoyle as Demona.  It was a name that she knew.  Her uncle Goliath had sometimes spoken of a gargoyle called Demona.  Whenever Mistra would ask about her she would never get a straight answer.  They said that she did not need to know about her.  Even her parents always seemed afraid to talk about it.

*Especially* her parents...

Suddenly it hit her, as if somebody had plunged a knife into her midsection.

"Demona!" she said, realizing who had been here.  "Why didn't anybody ever tell me..."  Her eyes teared.  "...she was my real mother?"

Mistra sat on the edge of her bed and started to cry.  She often wondered why she had no visible resemblance to Venus.  Now she knew why.  All this time Venus had not been her real parent. If so, then was this human in the picture her father?

Her mother... her father... oh, God, it was all a lie!!

She dropped the journal, threw the sliding doors open and ran onto the porch.  Gripping the railing, she squinted to see if she could see the figure.  There was nothing but empty sky with the dim lights of Manhattan in the distance.

Sniffing away the tears she took in a deep breath and shouted a single word into the harsh, freezing, silent night.... "*MOTHER!!!*"

Part 6: "Fond Farewells"

Part 6 takes place twenty years in the future, about halfway between "Hunter's Moon" and "Future Tense" timeline.

Ward's Island (Manhattan) - December 24th, 2016

Mistra ran down the stairs hastily, her nightgown trailing loose behind her and her eyes blurred with tears.  She burst into the living room, where Venus and Scott Mercure jumped, startled away from their relaxing, quiet Christmas Eve by the fireplace. 

Scott immediately noticed his daughter's distress, and Venus was shocked at the emotional turmoil psychically oozing from Mistra's mind.

Scott stepped up to the young girl and held her gently.  She shook with silent sobs as her wings drooped limply from the slits in her silken nightgown that they protruded from.

"There, there, now," whispered Scott. "What's all this? What's wrong?"

Mistra inhaled a shaky breath and then laughed somewhat bitterly, her voice breaking. "Wrong? Oh, nothing much. A gargoyle just broke into my room. Looked through my belongings. 

Stood by my bedside while I was asleep."

Venus' eyes widened, and her mouth opened ever so slightly. "A gargoyle?" asked Scott, his brow furrowed.

"Yes," Mistra replied, still crying, her voice sharp. "A gargoyle named Demona."

Scott instantly paled.  "Oh... God..."

Mistra Mercure held up something small and ancient-looking in her hand.  "Yes, that's right, Demona," came her bitter retort.  "And she left *this.* The journal of Robert and James MacGregor!"

Venus' shoulders slumped and she began rubbing the bridge of her nose. After all this time... Demona chose *now* to return?

"Oh, little one," she muttered.

Scott's mouth worked a little before he could speak. "Well... I... what did she--*"

"Is Demona my real mother?!" Mistra cried, cutting the professor off. He paused, shaken, and did not respond.  The girl turned to Venus, who would not meet her gaze.  There was a long, awkward moment of silence.

"Then it's true..." the hybrid whispered, the fire in her eyes gone. "You... you are not my mother and father."  The tears came anew, hot and fresh, heating her eyes.  "All this time... My entire life! You never... never told me."  She broke down for a moment, then looked up, her brow raised in sudden realization.

"Daniel!" she said hoarsely.  "Did... did Daniel know?" Scott looked to the floor, his answer barely audible. "Yes."

Mistra's face paled further.  "And... Athena? Jacob? Gemini? Cassandra? Lazarus?"

"Yes," Professor Mercure replied softly.  "They all knew."

"And... not one of them... not one of *you*... nobody told me."  She sat down, visibly shaken.  Her friends, her loved ones.

Daniel Ares, who had cradled her in his arms and been her friend as well as almost-second-father to her.  Gemini, who had been like a sister... Good God! Gemini!

"Gemini!" breathed Mistra.  "She looks just like... just like...."

"Demona," said Venus tonelessly.  "Gemini is a clone of Demona."

Mistra's mouth fell open, tried to close, and fell open again. "Gemini... is... my sister? And she never *told* me? My God, my whole life..." The impact was beginning to hit her. "My whole life has been nothing but a lie! And everybody knew except me--*" She paused, then looked up, desperate.  "Oh, please.  Tell me... did... did..." She fingered the engagement ring on her hand.  "... did Blake know?"

Scott shook his head.  "No.  He believed, as did you, that you were our biological daughter."

Mistra sank back down.  Well, at least there was one who had not betrayed her.  But everything else... "How could you?" she hissed suddenly, with a savageness that she never knew existed.

"How could you?" She whirled around and stepped briskly to the window, looking out into the night.  "This house, these clothes, my room, my possessions... None of it should be mine!" Her eyes were wild.  "It's all a lie! It's all *fake*!"

Scott came up slowly behind her.  "Mistra... honey, I..." He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"No!" she snapped suddenly, tears streaming freely as she shrugged away from his touch.  "You're not my father...!"

Scott recoiled as if he'd been shot.  "Oh, Mistra, no... Please, don't push me away.  Don't do this."

"How can I trust you?!" she shot back, throat sore.  "You've lied to me my entire life! It's all a *lie*!"

Now Scott's eyes looked on the verge of tears.  He stepped up to her again and held out his arms.  She backed up a pace, but he matched her move and wrapped his arms around her.  She suddenly broke down and went limp in his embrace, clinging to him and sobbing.  Her talons dug deep into the fabric of his clothes; when she was little, she, like all gargoyle children, had a tendency to cling fast to whomever she identified as trustworthy.

Now, even as she blossomed into womanhood, she clung to the professor like a newborn babe, for it gave her comfort on some level to hold on to him, never letting go.

"Oh, Mistra," he whispered, feeling her hot tears on his chest as she burrowed into his hug, "I'm so sorry... I'm so very, very sorry..."

Venus swallowed hard and watched as her husband and their adopted gargoyle/human hybrid child wept together.  She sighed, the bearer of a great responsibility, and straightened her shoulders.  This was very emotional for her, as well, but she had to remain stoical.  She had known this day would eventually come.

She had hoped to avoid it, but deep in her heart...

... she knew it was inevitable.

Mistra weakly held up the journal and removed the photograph that was within. Scott took it from her and stared at it for a short time before putting it on the coffee table.

"Are those..." asked Mistra weakly. "Are those my..." She broke off, biting her lip.

Scott pulled away from his little love, the girl whom he had held in his arms so many years before... and put a hand on Venus's shoulder. He took a deep breath. "I think the time has come to reveal the truth."

Venus seemed to hesitate for a moment before setting her jaw. "You are correct, Mistra. We are not your biological parents. Demona and the human in that picture are your real mother and father."

Mistra wiped furiously at her cheeks, sniffing, as she tried futilely to compose herself. This was all so horrifying... it couldn't be real, it couldn't!! Oh, she just wanted to wake up, see that it was Christmas Morn, and run down to the arms of her loving parents and friends...

But none of that was going to happen.

It was all a lie.

"What... what was my father's name?"

"James MacGregor, he was a geneticist that worked for Xanatos many years ago." Scott explained as he sat next to Mistra. "He was killed while protecting you and your mother."

A geneticist... how ironic. Then... was she some sort of gene freak? Some sort of spliced *thing* grown in a nutrient bath? How ironic... Mistra herself was in training to become a cyber-geneticist. She had always believed it was because of the influence of Daniel Ares, her best friend and mentor. But, instead, it appeared that like father... like daughter. Scott and Venus' adopted daughter hung her head and started to cry again.

"Why wouldn't anybody tell me?" she choked. "*Why*?"

"It was the wish of your mother that we adopted you," Venus said softly. "Demona didn't want you following in her footsteps."

"But... why not?" Mistra asked. "What were my parents like?"

Venus stood in the center of the room and shook her head.

"I... shall answer all of your questions... in time." Mistra knew that Venus was a  powerful sorceress, and thus was not surprised when the gargoyle began chanting. From the air beside her adopted mother a glowing sphere began  to swirl with magic energies.

"This is a portal of illusion, one which will allow me to show you your ancestry in the clearest way possible," intoned Venus in a majestic voice. "Think of it as... a hole in time; a virtual reality device, which will allow you to experience history and things long since past."

Lowering her arms, she motioned Mistra and Scott towards the portal. The professor took Mistra by the hand and led her towards the swirling gateway. Venus took each of their hands and pulled         them into the blinding light.

There was a blinding flash and a rushing of unimaginable winds. Mistra squeezed her eyes shut and turned away, raising her hand to ward off the intense light.

Suddenly the light faded and they found themselves in a damp cavern deep within a place where Mistra was not familiar with. Scott looked around and noticed a clutch of enormous, ostrich sized eggs in the center of the room. He knew they were in a gargoyle rookery, but where, and when?"

"We are in Scotland, deep beneath the Castle Wyvern, more than a millennium ago," Venus explained in a hushed voice, feeling her love's mental question. "We are going to witness the birth of a gargoyle egg. We cannot be seen nor heard by anybody because these are just memories. I have not the power of the Phoenix Gate: despite what you may see, we are still in our present. Time travel is beyond abilities."

They heard noises from another corner of the cavern and turned to see what it was. There was a female gargoyle with blue skin and blazing red hair. She was kneeling down on a pile of straw and growling painfully. Two other females were steadying her and were trying to calm her down.

"Is..." Mistra began. "Is that my mother?"

"No," Venus answered. "You are about to witness the birth of your mother."

Their attention was drawn back to the female when they heard a high pitched scream. Something large and round appeared from between her legs and tumbled to the straw. A wet, slime covered egg could now be seen, which one of the female gargoyles picked up.

The other female helped the mother lie down as one with the egg placed it with the others. After a few seconds the mother began to convulse, drawing the attention of the two females. A fair amount of blood was running freely into the straw, pooling on the ground under her.

"What's wrong with her?" Mistra asked, slightly alarmed at the sight before her.

"Demona's mother was not ready to experience childbirth," 

Venus said sadly. "She will die in a few moments."

"No!" Mistra said, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Venus shook her head. "These are just vision of the past, little one. Since they've already occurred we cannot alter them. History is inevitable."

The mother screamed again in pain and then fell silent, dropping backwards, her eyes rolled up to stare at nothingness. Mistra started to cry as the two females bowed their heads over their fallen rookery sister. Scott slid his arm around Mistra's waist and pulled her close.

"Come," Venus said sadly. "We must leave this place to visit another."

Venus spoke softly in Latin and the three of them vanished in a flash of light. When they appeared again they were still in the rookery, only there was nobody around. The clutch of eggs was still there, as was the egg the female had lain.

"We have come ten years into the future," Venus said. "Watch and see the hatching of your mother, Mistra."

A few moments later a pair of gargoyles entered, one male and one female. They did not look familiar but seemed very interested in the eggs. There was a momentary pause as one of the eggs began to twitch and move. The two gargoyles knelt down next to the egg and waited for the shell to crack. When it did they waited until a  tiny hand appeared through an opening.

The female of the pair tapped the egg with her talon and began to pull bits of shell away. When the topmost section of the egg was open the male reached inside and removed the infant. A tiny female gargoyle with dark red hair and blue skin was lifted into the female's arms. It as covered in clear liquid that the male did his best to wipe away.

"Let's follow them," Mistra said softly. "I want to see who Demona's father is."

Venus shook her head. "We cannot. I can only call upon images of a certain area in time and space. We are unable to move around from place to place by normal means."

The image shifted out of focus for a moment before a new one took its place. They were somewhere in the woods, next to a small pond. It was at night and there were several gargoyle children playing by the water's edge, the moonlight glistening on the rippling lake. Several feet away were a half dozen adults keeping a close eye on the young ones.

They saw a little Demona playing with another baby gargoyle, a dark skinned male. When Mistra looked more carefully at the male she had a good idea who it was.

"Uncle Goliath!" she said merrily. "Oh, look, he's so cute... and playing with Demona as well!"

Venus smiled. "Yes, but your mother was quite the little hellion. Watch."

They looked on as Demona and Goliath played in the sand by the water for a few minutes. When little Goliath turned his back, Demona picked up a handful of wet sand. Mistra didn't find anything wrong with that until her infant mother threw it at another gargoyle child.

The wet sand struck the little gargoyle in the back of the head, sending it face down in the sand. It began crying, drawing the attention of the adults. The young Goliath turned towards the noise and looked at Demona with suspicion.

Demona noticed his look and said something all youngsters say when they're accused. "Wasn't me."

From the tone of her voice she was trying to sound as cute and sweet as possible. Mistra glared at her mother and wore a slight frown.

"I take it she became meaner as she grew?"

Venus nodded. "Do you want to continue with this journey, Mistra?"

Mistra sighed and crossed her arms, eyes still glassy. She looked at the young Demona and Goliath once more before nodding her head. Venus waved her hand and enchanted again. Like before, the vision blurred and a few seconds later another took its place.

They were in the courtyard of Castle Wyvern where some kind of tournament was going on. A large gathering of humans and gargoyles were standing around a large open area. On the far side they could see a man of high nobility. Standing next to him was Hudson and three young gargoyles.

"How are you able to know all this, my love?" Scott asked, a little surprised at her ability to view this.

"Demona's memories are contained with Mistra." Venus replied, maintaining her concentration. "When she was born all of Demona's past memories were stored within her. She's not aware of these past happenings: it's not genetic. It's almost like a psychic imprinting. I'm simply drawing them from her own subconscious mind. The memory of Demona's birth was taken from the mind of Mistra's grandmother, whose memories were likewise imprinted in Demona."

"That's incredible!" Scott said, sounding very impressed. "I never knew you could do that."

Venus smiled and shook her head. "Neither did I. I seem to gain things depending on what mood I'm in. Now, please pay attention, Mistra, this is very important."

The image shifted slightly, and a second later they found themselves standing in the open area. A man stood and silenced the crowd who was gazing on by torch light.

"That is Prince Malcom," muttered Venus, pointing the man out.

"We are gathered here today to witness a demonstration of fighting," the prince announced. "Now prepare to observe something that impressed even I."

As the crowd grew silent two figures stepped out of the masses into the night. The first was a human man of average height and build. He wore standard leather armor with no visible weapons. He bowed before the prince and said something that they didn't seem to hear.

"That man is Robert MacGregor," Venus said, pointing to the man. "He is a past relative of James MacGregor... your father.

Robert was the first human that Demona fell in love with." 

Mistra took a better look at the man and could see the resemblance between him and the human in the photograph. James MacGregor did not have facial hair, and this man did, but other than that many features were quite similar.

"My mother was in love with a human, even in this time?" 

Mistra sighed. "I can't believe that she could be so evil as you claim and still fall in love with a human."

"Robert MacGregor was an exceptional man, Mistra. He was in love with Demona, but he was afraid to show it," Venus explained.

A moment later Demona stepped from the crowd. She looked to be in her teen years at this time. She was strikingly beautiful and bore an excellent similarity to Mistra. Demona stepped before the prince and said nothing.

Robert led Demona to the center of the clearing and told her to attack him. They fought against each other for a short time. They seemed to take turns defeating one another. The last demonstration they performed involved a broadsword.

The human took a sword from a nearby guard and handed it over to Demona. He told her to attack him with the weapon but she didn't seem to want to. Robert needed to persuade her a while longer before she agreed to do it.

She screamed aloud and swung the weapon at Robert's skull. A split second before it would strike, Robert leaned back and caught the blade in his palms. Everybody in the crowd gasped and stared for a few moments before cheering aloud.

At that moment Venus waved her hands and shifted the image again. Now they were standing atop a rock, somewhere on a beach. Mistra looked around but could not see anything familiar. If all these things were contained in her mind, why couldn't she call on them herself?

Before she could ask they saw Demona sitting on the edge of the rock. She was staring at the ocean before her. A few moments later Robert climbed onto the rock and sat next to her.

The wind had picked up a little and the sea was slightly rougher. As the waves would strike the rock, a fine mist would cascade in the air before them.

"Robert," Demona said quietly as he sat next to her. "You are the only human I know who's ever befriended a gargoyle the way you have me. You've taught me many things, not just fighting, but other ...arts, as well."

From the soft tone of her voice they got the general idea of what Demona was talking about.

Reaching up, she touched his cheek and gently ran her clawed finger down his neck. She leaned towards him, her mouth parted in a thin smile. He seemed nervous and took her hand into his to stop her from going any further.

Scott frowned and watched in interest.

"What's wrong, Robert?" Demona asked, not sure of why he stopped her affectionate advances. "I thought you...cared for me?"

"I do, little Angel." he sighed, rubbing her hand. "More than you can imagine, but yer heart already belongs t' another."

"My heart belongs to whoever I want it to," she replied, trying to sidle up next to him. "I want you to have it." 

Robert let go of her hand and turned his head. "You are very beautiful, Angel, and I'd accept you in a second."

"But...?" she sighed, "You're a human and I'm a gargoyle.

Who cares? We'll leave the castle and go someplace else; Others have done so before, gargoyles with human mates who were afraid of how the clan would react. We can be together, Robert, just you and me."

Scott shook his head. "This is not the Demona I know of," he muttered.

"Indeed it is not," whispered Venus, hushed even though the images could not hear them. "This is not Demona, but Goliath's Angel of the Night. It will be years before the destruction of Castle Wyvern and the creation of Demona. When she is 'betrayed' by MacBeth in her own mind, then every last scrap of Goliath's            Angel will die... *has* died. Now there is only Demona." Venus sighed. "...And I morn for my lost rookery sister."

The image of the long-dead Robert shook his head and tried to hold back the dampness that formed in his eyes. "I wish I could, little Angel, more than anything. But I canna leave my position at the castle. And I canna ask ye to leave yer kind. 

"You would be better off with th' other gargoyle ye seem to care fer," he said, wiping his nose. "I already lost someone close ta me, an' I donn'a want that to happen again. Please forgive me."

As the image faded Mistra found herself starting to cry. Scott put his arm around her and pulled her into a warm hug. "There are a few more memories that you need to see." Venus said, looking sad herself. "It's not going to get any easier, my daughter. Do you want to stop?"

Mistra sniffed and shook her head. This is what she wanted to know. Her birth mother's past was what she wanted to know about, as much as she could. She shook her head again, more determinedly. "No. We don't stop. I want to see it all."

Venus nodded her head and mumbled more Latin, shifting the image again. The next image even caught the professor off guard when they appeared in the middle of a bar brawl.

Scott ducked as a sword slashed through his midsection. If it had been real he would be dead. He shook his head and wiped the sweat from his brow,  waiting for Venus to explain.

"We are still in Castle Wyvern, at a local tavern where some drunks started a brawl," Venus spoke softly as she looked at the image. "The castle guards will intervene, of course, but this memory will not be a happy one."

Just as she said that a handful of guards burst through the door. Among them were Robert MacGregor and Demona. The drunks forgot about each other and attacked the guards. Robert's men met the drunken brawlers head on, swords swinging.

A few moments later Robert pulled his own sword and joined  the fray. He had just killed a drunk when he turned and saw Demona using the odd fighting techniques they had seen in the clearing not to long ago.

"Ugh," Scott spat. "This is getting messy."

"My mother," whispered Mistra. "She wades through them like... Ares in the Trojan War!"

Venus raised an eyebrow at Mistra. "Demona has always been... *more* than adept at slaughtering humans."

Mistra, Scott and Venus watched with interest but it was Mistra who saw the hidden attack. One of the drunks pulled a long dagger from his belt and prepared to throw it at Demona. Robert noticed it as well, dropped his sword and lunged at Demona. As the drunk tossed the dagger Robert grabbed Demona and used himself as a shield. The dagger plunged deep in his lower back, and blood ran easily down his backside and legs. He crumpled to the ground, and Demona rolled from his grasp.

Demona screamed and lunged at the drunk who had thrown the dagger. Scott needed to avert his gaze at what she did to the poor soul. There was so much blood that when she was done it was difficult to determine which parts went to which drunk. Mistra could only stand there and stare at her mother's retaliation for Robert.

Demona knelt down at the side of her love and cradled him in her lap. He asked her for one favor, a kiss.

"Something as simple as a kiss is worth more than anything in the world," Robert said softly, placing a hand on Demona's cheek.

Demona started to cry and kissed him, ever so passionately, on the lips. When they parted he withdrew a pouch from his belt and opened it. Demona held out her hand as he dumped two golden earrings into her palm. He said they once belonged to her first beloved that had died, he wanted her to have him.

Mistra stepped up behind the images, these alive-dead memories of things long since past. Here eyes were wide. Demona shook her head and said that she wanted him, not the earrings. He smiled and said that he would always be with her as long as she kept him in her heart.

As Robert closed his eyes his body went limp and Demona began to cry. Mistra started to cry again, so Venus shifted the image away and replaced it with a spooky, ebony blackness.

"He gave his life for her," Mistra bawled, falling to her knees. "This is all... so terrible. So horrible."

Without waiting for Mistra to speak again, Venus called upon another memory. As the images focused they were hovering several feet above castle Wyvern. Scott let loose a little "Eep!" sound before he composed himself and began to accustom himself to levitating. "Well, this is... uplifting."

There was a battle waging below between the castle guards and another army outside the castle. Tiny arrows whizzed through the air, catching an occasional man in the chest.

"What is happening?" asked the hybrid girl.

"The Vikings," Venus replied softly. "This is the army which would eventually destroy Castle Wyvern. This was the last stronghold of our kind in Scotland. Those few remaining gargoyles left alive will be exterminated by the Hunter when the English invade only a few years from now. This is the end of an era.

Demona simply hid on a ledge below the castle until it was over."

Venus took in a shaky breath, shaken at the sight of all her beloved rookery brothers and sisters. She herself had been frozen in stone when all this had transpired, trapped in a thousand year hibernation with the rest of the Lost Clan by the Archmage. So many of her own memories were brought boiling to the surface of her being by these sights... "It was because of your mother that Castle Wyvern was overtaken." Venus explained. "She made a pact with the Captain of the Guard to let the Vikings sack the castle."

"But why?" Mistra asked, watching the death and destruction of the home of her ancestors, both human and gargoyle.

"It was her hope that once the humans were gone the gargoyles would take over," Venus said, no longer paying any attention to the vision. "Unfortunately Goliath and the others were magically turned to stone before Demona could complete her plan. And the Captain was betrayed by Hakon, leader of the Vikings. All of Wyvern... was annihilated."

Mistra was all too familiar with this story, thanks to her uncle Goliath. According to Goliath, the Magus had placed Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway and Lex into a magic sleep. When Goliath had discovered what had happened it was too late. So he would no longer be alone, he asked the Magus to cast the spell on him as well.

When Demona had discovered what had happened she went into a nonstop killing spree. Later she would join the with the Clan MacBeth as the new defenders of Castle MacBeth. 

As before, Demona revolted against humankind, and left MacBeth stranded when his castle was besieged. For many years after she had remained in hiding, killing whenever she could, as she believed herself to be the last remaining gargoyle. The Avenging Angel...

When Venus shifted the image again they saw scenes from Demona's past memories. They saw the pact the three Sisters made with Demona and MacBeth. Other scenes involved Demona's immortal journey through time. She had been the cause of many deaths, even full scale wars.

She even worked with an evil human who was known as Hitler. Demona had been all over the world, reeking havoc and death to whomever did not meet her needs. Mistra was starting be appalled by her mother's past. How could one person be so *evil*?

Then the image changed again. This time they were inside a laboratory. Demona was standing before a human male telling him that she wanted him to undertake a task. She wanted the man to discover why gargoyles turned to stone during the day and how to stop it.

They watched as the discussion soon turned personal when the professor told Demona that he knew about her kind. Demona had been amazed that he was the descendant of Robert MacGregor. 

Mistra's hopes were lifted a little when her real mother told the man about her past. Deja vu all over again... It was when the professor showed her the journal that Demona started to change. When Demona had finished telling James about how she had known Robert MacGregor, they embraced.

"This is where your mother began to experience something she had been without for over a millennium," Venus said, pointing to the human.

"Love," Mistra said softly. "Is that my real father?"

Venus nodded. "Yes. Scott and myself went to see this man in hopes that we could have a child ourselves. When the man said it was not possible, we had lost all hope."

Scott put a hand on Venus' shoulder and shook his head. She nodded. "... But our own past is not why we have undertaken this journey." Venus changed the image again and they were now in what looked to be Demona's bedchamber.

In the bed was a seemingly unnatural pair. Demona was snuggled up to James MacGregor beneath the sheets. Both appeared to be without clothing. Demona shifted slightly and seemed to awaken. She gazed up at the journal on the night stand and reached for it.

"It is here that you were conceived, Mistra," Venus said as Demona began looking through the journal. "Your mother's love for James was very strong, strong enough to willingly make love to him. But a thousand years of hate and spite for a species could not be buried. In her mind, she refused to view him as a man, but rather as a gargoyle. Something *better* than humanity."

Mistra watched as her biological mother closed the journal and began to cry softly. She gazed down at her hand and gently touched the engagement ring that was there. It had been given to her when Blake Ares had proposed to her. Venus and Scott had had nothing but encouragement to give her... she had known Blake since the day he was born! They had been raised together by the same two sets of parents. Early in life they had been as brother and sister, then as best friends, and finally as lovers. Soon the wedding would be upon them... would she and Blake look like this, like James MacGregor and Demona, together in bed? So funny... so very ironic how history seemed to repeat itself, over and over and over... She prayed to God that her marriage would turn out more fruitfully than Demona's mating with her father.

Scott placed a hand on Mistra's shoulder. "Come along, Mistra. There is more to see." Mistra nodded and turned her gaze away from the bed scene.

"Now comes the hardest part of all, little one," Venus said as she began chanting again. "Never before have I sensed such feelings in a gargoyle. Demona is very special, no matter what anybody thinks of her."

Mistra nodded and waited for the image to clear. This time they were in some kind of cabin. Goliath and the others were here, as was Xanatos and Owen. Demona and James were sitting on a small couch in front of the fireplace. On the far wall was a table with assorted refreshments.

"Welcome to Xanadune," whispered Professore Mercure. "This is Xanatos' upstate resort."

They group discussed assorted things; how Demona and James got together, and most importantly, her pregnancy. A short time after Elisa and Demona were talking to each other when Demona seemed to have some soft of discomfort.

She dismissed herself and went over to the refreshments table and got herself something to drink. Seconds later she screamed and doubled over in agony.

Mistra watched in amazement. "This is my birth, isn't it?" Venus nodded. "Indeed. Now hush, child, and watch as your past unfolds."

"Why?"

"Two destinies are meeting," Venus replied simply. Mistra shrugged her shoulders and did what her adopted mother asked of her.

James was going to perform the delivery himself and was asking for some towels and utensils. He had removed her loincloth and told Demona to try and relax. She seemed very upset, not to mention in a lot of pain.

"Can we get closer?" Mistra asked, almost pleading. "I want to see this."

Venus shook her head. "This is only part of what you need to see." Before Mistra could ask her to be more specific, they heard the sudden crash of a door being forced open.

It wasn't hard for the occupants of the cabin to notice the new commotion and turn to face the dark intruders that were standing there.

"Everybody remain where they are!" one dark figure warned as they pointed their guns. "All we've come for is Professor MacGregor and his work. If you don't remain docile, you are expendable."

"No!" the Goliath-image roared at the intruder. "If you value your lives you will leave now!"

The dark figure shook his head and looked down at MacGregor and Demona. While his men kept the others at bay he pointed his own gun at Mistra's father and approached.

"No!" gasped Mistra. She slashed out in desperation with her claws, but she passed harmlessly through the intangible intruder. The image did not even flicker.

Venus shook her head. "This is not the past, Mistra. Only memories.  Just watch. Observe. This is inevitable."

Demona, through all her pain, looked at the oncoming figure and hissed angrily. The man halted for a moment, but seeing the gargoyle's predicament, he continued forward.

The gargoyles looked as if they were about to try and rush the attackers but did not want to risk Demona or the professor. All they could do for the moment was watch angrily. 

"Come, professor," the figure said. "If you value that thing's life you will come with us now!"

He shook his head. "If I go she might die! You have no idea what is going on here! She *needs* me! With a human or a gargoyle there might be some hope, but with a *hybrid*...? Please let me finish!"

The man shook his head and pointed the barrel of his gun at Demona's belly. "Come with us or they both die!"

Mistra bared her teeth. "Those *monsters*! How *dare* they?!"

Scott placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Shh, little one. All this happened over twenty years ago."

Demona looked quite helpless in her condition. MacGregor looked down at her and sighed. Taking Demona's hand he said he was sorry and started to stand.

"No," she moaned painfully. "Don't leave me! I lost your ancestor, I don't want to lose you!"

The figure shook his head and watched as the professor slowly stood up.

"Very good, professor," the mercenary said, waving his gun towards the door. "Let's waste no more time."

From somewhere outside Mistra heard a scream, unlike anything she had heard yet. The figure turned in the direction of the sound just as one of his men came crashing through a window, torn asunder. Mistra gasped in surprise.

"That corpse has been mauled!" she gasped.

Scott nodded solemnly, but continued to remain silent. The sudden surprise caught the other dark figures off guard and the gargoyles reacted with inhuman reflexes. In mere seconds the intruders were locked into hand to hand combat. Growling under his breath, the leader brought his gun to bear on MacGregor, then on to Demona.

"What's going on here?" he growled as more of his men, once outside, were now running inside.

From the looks on their faces something outside had them scared to death. He grabbed the professor and turned him around, using him as a human shield.

Three shots rang out and three men died. As they fell all eyes turned to Elisa, with her set jaw and smoking gun. "I've taken down a squad of professional killers single-handed," she said grimly. "And you come in here, threatening my friends and loved ones?" She pulled back the hammer and leveled her piece at the commando leader, trying to get a clear shot. "I don't think so."

Mistra gaped at Elisa and discovered that under that feminine body there was a deadly warrior. She had seen Elisa do many things in the past, but this was the bravest yet. Mistra sighed and continued to watch the memory.

As the others fought, the leader backed away from the fray and seemed to be looking for another way out. Most of his men were rapidly getting the life beaten from them when he noticed the bedroom door.

Someone attacked Elisa with incredible speed, but she dropped him before he got close enough to kill her. The leader forced the professor to follow him as he tried to make for the bedroom door.

"Open it!" he spat, poking the gun into MacGregor's back. 

The professor did as he was told, but when the door opened both saw a large creature within. The dark figure gasped and backed away from it. In the process he released MacGregor.

From the bedroom the strange creature stepped out into the light. It was similar to the other gargoyles. Only its skin tone and a few facial features were different. It had short blonde hair and light brown skin. Like the other creatures, it wore a simple loincloth. The beast growled at him and bared its fangs.

The intruder was going to try for the front door when yet another gargoyle emerged, this one was a black haired female. Her eyes glowed menacingly.

With all the exits blocked by creatures or fighting he pointed his gun at the creature he opened fire. The armor piercing shells tore into the thing's hide, knocking it off balance and forcing it to list to one side. But a moment later it turned back toward him, snarling viciously. The bullet holes were clearly visible and very deep, yet there was no blood.

"No!" he cried. "God dammit, play fair! You can't all be bullet proof!" he yelled, turning his gun towards Demona.

"NO!" MacGregor yelled, and threw himself at the figure. Mistra gasped in terror as MacGregor grabbed the gun barrel and shoved it upwards seconds before it went off. The figure growled and shoved the butt into the professor's stomach.

MacGregor grunted in pain but did not let go of the gun. MacGregor used his free hand and punched as hard as he could at the figure's face. His attack worked as the figure's head went stretching backwards and grunting. With the attacker temporarily disorientated, he swung again and struck the side of the figure's head. With a loud smack the killer spun in a half circle and went crashing to the floor.

Her human father seemed to be a great fighter. He was doing anything he  would to protect Demona and her infant self. Mistra wanted to meet her real father. He seemed like a wonderful human. 

"This is amazing!" she gasped in the middle of the fray, turning to Scott and Venus. "Where is my real father now? I want to meet him!"

Venus averted her eyes, and Scott blew air between his lips, scratching the back of his head absently. Mistra blinked, waiting for an answer, and then turned back to the fight.

MacGregor took a moment to see what the other gargoyles were doing and noticed that some had gone outside to fight. The only people left inside were Goliath, Elisa and Owen, of all people. Xanatos' aid crouched before a dark figure and jumped up with a spinning back kick. The figure spun in a complete circle before crashing into the floor.

For a moment James looked at the two new gargoyles and then ran back to Demona. She was grasping at her abdomen and yelling from the pain. Trying to keep a calm head he undid her belt and removed her loincloth. The liquid had already soaked through it and pooled on the floor.

"Try and relax a little, Demona," he said softly, grabbing her hand and squeezing. "Just lie back and breath deeply." Mistra scrambled up behind the memory of her sire, eyes eager.

Demona looked at him and shook her head. "I can't, something's wrong. My kind do not go through this kind of pain. 

It feels like she's trying to claw her way out. I -- Augh!" "Your kind usually lay eggs, Demona," he said, trying to get her to calm down. "This isn'a an egg, it's a living creature."

She nodded her head as another spasm of pain shot through her body, causing her to scream. Using the primordial acts of instinct she sat up and pushed. MacGregor put his other hand on her belly and gently pressed down.

Gritting her teeth, Demona pushed again. Mistra put her hands to her mouth in awe as a tiny head emerged.

"That's me!" she said, overwhelmed.  "That's really me!!"

MacGregor looked down at the tiny gargoyle's head. Although wet and covered with unnatural slime, the real Mistra and the others could see it's dark red hair.

MacGregor noticed Elisa dispatch one of the figures and he yelled at her. "Come here!" Elisa waited a moment to be sure it was safe, and then hurried over to him and knelt down.

"Detective Maza," he said, getting her attention. "I NEED some warm wet towels and a large dry cloth. Please go into the kitchen and get them, and bring back a sharp knife too!"

Elisa nodded and sped into what must have been the kitchen. Mistra heard some odd noises, like many small metal items falling to the floor. A second or two later there was the sound of running water. When Elisa emerged again she was holding the items that James had asked for.

"Detective!" MacGregor yelled. "Bring them here, please! NOW!"

Swearing at herself, Elisa hurried over and handed him one of the wet cloths. By now the baby gargoyle was completely out and he began wiping the green ooze from its body. It's skin seemed to be more flesh colored than Demona's off-blue skin, but it had dark red hair, thin leathery wings wrapped around its body and a short, pointed tail.

Mistra looked at herself and felt very, *very* strange. She was actually seeing her own birth. It was quite interesting, but strange nonetheless. Without realizing it she felt tears well up in her eyes and one escaped down her cheek. God, it seemed like she'd been crying all night...

Demona seemed to be breathing easier and MacGregor grasped Elisa's arm, smiling.

"Here, detective," MacGregor said, placing the baby in the dry towel she had. "Hold her while I take care of the cord, please."

It was then Mistra noticed the long thin cord attached to the baby's belly. MacGregor took the knife and with a flick of his wrist, cut it. Mistra winced slightly at the sight and felt as if her insides turned around.

Demona looked up suddenly and pointed to the figure James had fought earlier. The intruder was slowly getting up and shaking his head. He saw his gun lying a few feet away and leaped for it. MacGregor did not think twice and dashed for it as well, knowing what the figure would do with it.

They reached it almost at the same time but the dark figure was slightly faster. MacGregor tried to punch him again but the man ducked and shoved the butt of his gun into MacGregor's gut for a second time.

He grunted in pain but did not go down. Growling away the pain, he noticed the man bringing the gun to bear on Demona and Elisa. With whatever speed he could muster he raced towards the two women and got between the figure and then as a shot rang out.

Mistra screamed in terror as a spurt of blood erupt from MacGregor's chest sending him flying back. Demona noticed it as well and screamed in terror as her love crashed to the floor. 

Quickly handing the infant to Demona, Elisa drew her own gun and fired at the dark figure.

Her shot struck the man in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards into the chairs. She dropped the gun and raced to MacGregor's side. He was still alive but she only needed to look at the injury to know how serious it was.

"Father!!" Mistra shrieked. "No, I've just found you! Don't die!!"

"JAMES!" Demona screamed again, tears streaming down her face. "Not again...NOT AGAIN!"

Mistra balled her fists and began to cry so much that her vision was starting to blur. "No! FATHER!"

MacGregor noticed Elisa pressing her hand on the wound. The burning pain was excruciating but he knew he had to get back to Demona.

"Detective," he gasped, choking through lungs which must have been filling up with blood. "Help me get back to Demona."

Elisa shook her head. "You're not doing anything until we can get some help. Goliath!" she screamed. "Get in here fast!"

"Elisa," MacGregor moaned, using her first name. "You know what's going to happen. Please, let me hold Demona and our daughter one last time."

Nodding her head, she helped him to his feet and escorted him to Demona's side. He lay down next to her and reached out to touch the child. The baby was squirming around in the towel as Demona held it close to her chest, mewling more softly than one might expect.

"James," she said, still crying. "Look how beautiful she looks. She's got my hair and your eyes."

"Elisa," MacGregor whispered. "Tell Goliath that he should talk to his sister. Venus wanted to have a child, but she's unable too."

"What?" Elisa asked. "Why didn't Scott tell Goliath this?" 

"He and Venus were afraid of what he'd say," James moaned. "They need the support of you and the others. Tell Goliath this, will you?"

Elisa nodded her head and tried her best not to begin crying. Apparently Elisa knew what was about to happen, and it was tearing her insides apart.

MacGregor smiled and nodded. "Take care of her, Demona." 

"Don't you leave me, MacGregor!" Demona cried, sounding quite angry. Her claws bit deeply into the hardwood floor. "I'll never forgive you if you do."

James shook his head. "Sorry, my love, but sometimes even the happiest of stories must come to an end at some point in time. Mine is now."

Demona shook her head as she watched the life slowly running from the wound in his chest. He grasped her hand and squeezed for a short time before slowly going limp. She felt his strong grip loosen and his eyes flutter closed.

"NO!" she screamed as loud as she could.

She handed the squirming infant to Elisa roughly and threw herself on top of him. Elisa knew there was nothing she could do for him and she let a single tear escape from her eye, falling off her cheek onto the infant's innocent and curious face. 

Mistra fell to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably. Venus put an arm around her and did her best to calm her. Her father died saving Demona, just like Robert MacGregor did over a thousand years ago. Any hopes of ever meeting him vanished instantly.

By this time the others had apparently finished with the intruders and were rushing back into the cabin. They noticed the bundle Elisa was holding, then saw MacGregor's still form. Demona was still laying on him, crying uncontrollably, her talons sinking deep into the corpse's back without her realizing it. 

Goliath looked at Elisa and frowned. Elisa shook her head and held the infant close to her. From the body lying a few feet away with the gun next to it they knew what had transpired. 

Elisa said he would have shot her and Demona if MacGregor hadn't gotten between them. Even Xanatos and Owen looked down at the professor and Demona with the closest thing they could manage to sadness. Mistra reached out and tried to touch her dead father and mourning mother, but her talons passed effortlessly through the images.

"Brave man," Xanatos said softly, his arms across his chest.

"And a valuable employee. A pity."

"Yes," Goliath replied, approaching Demona and kneeling down next to her. "Demona, you've got to let him go. You're child needs you to be with her."

Demona shook her head and continued to cry. "I don't want the child, I want him! Why did this have to happen? First Robert now James."

She released the grip she had on his body and growled with anger.

"HUMANS!" she bellowed. "Always the goddamned human bastards! They will pay for this, James's death with not go unpunished!"

"Demona," Goliath said softly. "Go to your daughter. Fulfill the wish he asked of you."

Still crying with anger, she pushed herself away from James body. Goliath grabbed one of the towels and tied it around her waist. Demona looked up at him leaned on his arm for support. Elisa carried the child to Demona and placed it gently into her arms. The baby whined softly as it struggled in the towel it was wrapped in.

"She's beautiful, Demona," Goliath said, smiling. "You should be very proud."

"Did you look at Mistra's hands?" Elisa said. "If not then I think it'll interest you."

Demona unwrapped one of the baby's arms and looked at the tiny clawed hand. She and Goliath had to look twice to be sure they weren't seeing thing.

The child had FIVE fingers instead of four. Much like a human's, only tipped with tiny talons.

"She has more of her father's features then you thought."

Elisa smiled.

Mistra wiped the tears from her eyes and gazed down at her hands; her five fingered hands. The vision faded to black again as Venus knelt next to her adopted daughter.

"There is one final thing you must see, Mistra," she said softly. "Then we can return home."

She nodded and allowed Scott and Venus to help her to her feet. Mistra continued to hold on to Scott while Venus continued with her chanting. In a few moments they found themselves outside, in what looked to be a cemetery.

There was a funeral in progress as a priest read the burial rites from his bible. Everyone who had been at the cabin was present. Each of the gargoyles and Elisa stepped up to the grave and gave silent prayer. Mistra's eyes widened when she didn't see Demona anyplace.

"After everything Demona's been through she didn't even attend my father's funeral?" Mistra said to herself.

The last to gave prayer was her adopted parents, Scott and Venus. It was soon after that that Demona appeared, holding little Mistra in her arms. She thanked everybody for what they did for James and was about to leave when she stopped.

Demona approached Venus and handed Mistra over to her. She then pointed to Scott and said that they had better take good care of her. Scott nodded and followed Demona when she started to leave. He gave her the entry code to his home security systems and said she could visit anytime she wanted.

"Why didn't she ever come?" Mistra asked her adopted parents. "Why didn't she ever visit me?"

"She was afraid," Scott answered. "Afraid that she would want to take you back."

Venus nodded her head and started to explain further. "She didn't want you to follow her mistakes, just as the note said. We loved you very much, Mistra, even if I didn't give birth to you myself."

It was then that Venus started to cry, every so softly. Scott hugged her both her and Mistra as the vision around them faded back to the living room. There they stayed for a long time, doing little except hugging.

"I'm so sorry," Mistra sniffed. "You are my parents. Please forgive me for thinking otherwise."

Venus ran her hands through Mistra's red hair and smiled. "No matter what happens, Mistra, we'll always love you." 

Her father looked at her as well, wetness forming in his eyes as he smiled. "My daughter."

"Father..." She said, looking at Scott. "Mother..." Looking at Venus. "I love you." She embraced her parents, but then turned as the doorbell rang. Scott opened the door briskly.

"It's midnight!" exclaimed the man at the door cordially. "Merry Christmas!"

"Blake!" cried out Mistra. She threw herself at him and he caught her in his arms, accepting her lusty kiss. He broke away momentarily.

"Well," he said, flustered but grinning. "Nice to see you, too."

Mistra blinked, then looked down at herself. All she was wearing was a silken nightgown! "Oh, I'm not ready! I'm not dressed! You showed up --*" She turned to her parents. "Were we in the portal for all that time?"

Blake frowned. "Portal...?"

"Let me guess," came a new voice. "Venus has been practicing her magic again, right...?"

"Daniel!" smiled Venus as Blake's father, Dr. Daniel Ares, stepped up behind his son. She kissed him, greeting an old friend.

"Hey, hey," put in the woman by his side, playfully. "That's *my* job!"

Scott grinned. "Merry Christmas, Athena." The woman stepped in. Even at middle-age, with her hair beginning to show some shocks of silver, she was still a vision of beauty. "I see androids age gracefully as always," the professor smiled.

"Lazarus! Cassandra!" motioned Venus. "Don't stand out in the cold! C'mon in!"

"Poor Orpheus," said Mistra, while running her hands through Blake's hair. "He can't fit inside."

"Don't worry, milady," smiled Lazarus. "Everything I experience, he experiences. He'll be quite happy standing guard outside as long as the rest of us are enjoying ourselves."

Cassandra flashed a shark-toothed grin and reached out to pat Mistra's abdomen. "What's this? You're not pregnant yet?" She turned to Blake, winking. "You'll need to work on that."

Mistra smiled, blushing. "Cassy...!"

"Now, now," grinned Ares. "She's absolutely right. I expect grandchildren!" He came up to his son and goddaughter, embracing he two of them and kissing Mistra on the forehead. "Merry Christmas, little one."

Mistra pressed her body close to her fiancee, and smiled up at her godfather and soon-to-be father-in-law. "Children... should not be a problem," she grinned slyly.

Cassandra gestured to the air and in a flash of light, a pile of neatly wrapped gifts appeared. "Santa Claus is coming to town," she grinned.

"A pity Jacob isn't here to enjoy this," murmured Eric, petting Spencer, a child of the Mercures' late dog, Puce. "But I know he'd enjoy this."

"Goliath, Elisa and the others should be showing up shortly," Blake reminded them.

Mistra sighed happily and shook her head, smiling. "This is all so beautiful... What a night..."

Daniel's eyebrow raised slightly as he noticed a leather-bound journal on the end table. "Oh... dear."

Athena glanced at the note, then looked over at Scott. "She... she knows? About her mother?"

"Yes, I most certainly do!" Mistra piped up. "My mother is Venus Mercure, wife of my husband, Professor Scott Mercure.

Demona..." She chewed her lip for a moment. "...is someone I've never met. Not that I can remember. And I hope I never do." She pulled herself close to Blake.  "I've got all the family I need right here."

Venus smiled, her eyes watery. "Merry Christmas, my daughter."

"Yes," said Scott softly, standing by the crackling of the fire. "Merry Christmas one and all!"

Demona looked into the window, her breath frosting the glass panes in the frigid night air. She gazed into the scene inside, with the large family enjoying a peaceful, relaxing night together. She watched her daughter, her half-human daughter, with her human mate, and shook her head slowly.

Demona sighed. She had come back for one last, longing look, and she had gotten it. She had lost her daughter... but at least Mistra was happy, in an environment which cared for her and nurtured her.

The immortal gargoyle turned from the scene and leapt off into the night, wings outstretched against the thick, silent snow falling around her. A single tear escaped down her cheek. For a brief, fleeting period in her unending lifetime, Demona's love had been reborn. And for that instant, she had been happy. It had been a beautiful thing. A wonderful thing.

But now it was over.

Demona flew off into the unknown darkness, heedless of where she was going, and disappeared with a cry of anguish and regret, full of things that were long since past and things which could have been but were lost forever. The tear fell noiselessly to the ivory-covered earth, and froze hard and cold in the banks of snow.

And so another Part in her eternal life was ended as she flew off into the chill.

Alone...

- THE END -


End file.
